Clinical Outcomes of Liver Abscesses in Adults: A 10-Year Experience at a Tertiary Care Center in Northern India

Purpose Hepatic abscesses remain a significant clinical challenge due to high morbidity and mortality. This research aims to examine the etiological spectrum, management approaches, clinical features, and results in hepatic abscesses in a tertiary care facility in northern India, emphasizing the distinctions among pyogenic liver abscesses (PLAs) and amoebic liver abscesses (ALAs). Methods This retrospective study was done at GSVM Medical College, Kanpur, analyzing 725 patients with hepatic abscesses over a 10-year period. Patients were included based on confirmed diagnoses of ALAs or PLAs through clinical, serological, and microbiological evidence. Data on demographics, clinical presentation, imaging findings, laboratory results, and management approaches were extracted from hospital records. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23 (Released 2015; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States) was employed for statistical analysis, and continuous variables were displayed accordingly as means or medians and categorical variables as frequencies. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on abscess characteristics, including size, location, and etiology. Results Of the 725 patients analyzed, the mean age was 42.7 ± 15.8 years, with men comprising 85.93% of the cohort. ALAs accounted for 82.3% of cases, while PLAs comprised 12%. PLA cases frequently involved Gram-negative pathogens, such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, with 64% of PLA patients exhibiting positive pus or blood cultures. Common presenting symptoms included abdominal pain (87%) and fever (84.5%). Significant comorbidities included alcoholism (43.6%) and diabetes mellitus (34.2%). Right lobe involvement was predominant (75.9%), and multiple abscesses were noted in 47.5% of patients. Complications included pleural effusion (53.9%), abscess rupture (16.3%), and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (25.7%). Management strategies comprised antibiotics, percutaneous catheter drainage (74.8%), and needle aspiration (43.4%), with conservative treatment being effective in smaller abscesses. Mortality rates were low, at 1.6% for ALAs and 1.5% for PLAs. Hospital stays were shorter for PLA cases (median: five days) compared to ALAs (median: 7.3 days). Conclusion This study underscores the predominance of ALAs in endemic regions like India and highlights the significant role of Gram-negative bacteria in PLAs. Tailored management strategies, including percutaneous interventions and early antibiotic therapy, were associated with favorable outcomes and low mortality. However, the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in PLAs warrants robust antimicrobial stewardship. Public health measures focused on sanitation and clean water are critical to reducing the prevalence of ALAs.