Vagotomy induces deregulation of the inflammatory response during the development of amoebic liver abscess in hamsters.

BACKGROUND: The parasympathetic nervous system modulates the immune response in the abdominal-pelvic gut through the vagus nerve, which releases acetylcholine. This endogenous ligand acts on α7 nicotinic receptors expressed on immune cells. OBJECTIVE: To study the mechanism of the production and regulation of cytokines in parasympathectomized and control hamsters during the development of amoebic liver abscesses (ALA) caused by Entamoeba histolytica. METHODOLOGY: Six- to 8-week-old male hamsters with and without vagotomy were used in a model of ALA. The animals were infected with trophozoites (350,000; HM1:IMSS strain) via the intrahepatic route and sacrificed at 6, 12, and 24 h and at 2, 4, and 7 days postinfection. Immune parameters were recorded at each time point using morphometric techniques including immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry assays. These parameters included signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) levels, pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels, and nuclear factor-κB (NFκB) activation in neutrophils and macrophages. RESULTS: Compared to the control groups, the vagotomized (VAG) hamsters showed a significant increase in NFκB activation in neutrophils and macrophages, and higher levels of interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, interferon-γ, and tumor necrosis factor-α. VAG hamsters showed an increase in the expression of IL-8 and phosphorylated STAT3 during the first 24 h postinfection as well as slightly increased levels of transforming growth factor-ß on days 2-7 postinfection. No significant differences were demonstrated in the levels of IL-10. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the vagus nerve plays an important role in the regulation of inflammation during ALA formation.

Absceso hepático amebiano en el embarazo: reporte de un caso / Amebic liver abscess in pregnancy: a case report

La asociación de absceso hepático amebiano y embarazo es poco frecuente y se asocia a un aumento de la morbilidad y mortalidad materna. Presentamos el caso de una paciente de 33 años, cursando un embarazo de 35 semanas, que ingresó a nuestro servicio con el diagnóstico de absceso hepático, cuya etiología fue E. histolytica.

The appearance of amebic liver abscess in pregnancy is uncommon and is associated to increased maternal morbidity and mortality. We report the case of 33 years old woman, with a 35 weeks pregnancy that was admitted in our Hospital with the diagnosis of liver abscess, whose etiology was E. histolytica.

Endoscopic biliary drainage in patients with amebic liver abscess and biliary communication.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous drainage or surgery is required when amebic liver abscess (ALA) fails to respond to medical management. In some of these patients, non-response may be due to communication of ALA with the biliary tree. This report describes our experience with the use of endoscopic biliary draining in such patients. METHODS: Medical records of patients with ALA undergoing either needle aspiration or percutaneous pigtail drainage were retrieved; the indications for drainage were: abscess volume exceeding 250 mL, a thin rim of tissue (< 1 cm thick) around the abscess, systemic toxic features and failure to improve on medical treatment. Patients with abscess drain output >25 mL/day persisting for 2 weeks or presence of bile in the drain fluid underwent endoscopic biliary drainage. RESULTS: A total of 115 patients with ALA underwent percutaneous treatment. None of the 25 patients with needle aspiration needed any further treatment. Of the 90 who underwent catheter drainage, the catheter could be removed within one week in 77 patients; the remaining 13 patients (median age 42 years, range 24-65; all men) had an abscess-biliary communication. In them, the median catheter output was 88 mL/day (range 45-347) and 54 mL/day (28-177) at 2 days and 2 weeks after catheter placement. The drain fluid contained bile in all 13 patients and in addition contained pus in 10 patients. Eleven patients had a solitary abscess and two had multiple abscesses. Cholangiogram showed biliary communication in all 13 patients. All patients were treated with placement of 10F biliary endoprosthesis or 10F nasobiliary drain. Pigtail catheter was removed within 1 week in 11 of 13 patients. CONCLUSION: In patients with amebic liver abscess communicating with the biliary tree, biliary stenting may hasten clinical recovery and allow early removal of liver abscess catheter drain.

[Diagnosis and treatment of acute amebian liver abscess with laparoscopic method].

Laparoscopic surgical treatment was performed at 55 patients with acute amebian liver abscess. The diagnosis of acute amebian liver abscess was verified with clinical, serological, echoscopic, x-ray and CT methods. The laparoscopic method permits to sanify the abscess cavity of any localization. All the 55 patients have been discharged in good health. Laparoscopic method is maximally rational, associated with minimal surgical trauma, permits to decrease hospital stay and period of postoperative rehabilitation.

Tuberculous liver abscess: a case report and review of literature.

Tuberculous liver abscess is rare worldwide. We report a 45-year-old man who presented with abdominal pain, fever and weight loss. Ultrasound and computed tomography of the abdomen showed multiple cystic lesions in the liver. Ultrasound guided needle aspiration revealed yellowish brownish aspirate, which was flooded with acid-fast bacilli. The abscess was drained under ultrasound guidance. Subsequent abdominal ultrasound a few days later showed resolution of the abscess cavity. He was concomitantly started on systemic antituberculous therapy. A tuberculous liver abscess has to be thought of in the differential diagnosis of liver abscesses and to consider the role of percutaneous drainage along with systemic antituberculous chemotherapy as an alternative to surgery in the management. A greater awareness of this clinical entity is required for successful treatment.

Solitary and multiple pyogenic liver abscesses: characteristics of the patients and efficacy of percutaneous drainage.

OBJECTIVES: Although percutaneous drainage has emerged as one of the first line of therapies for pyogenic liver abscesses, the presence of multiple abscesses may warrant surgical drainage, which remains controversial in the literature. We studied whether the multiplicity of the lesions influences the outcome of the treatment. METHODS: Ultrasonography-guided percutaneous drainage was carried out in 48 patients with pyogenic liver abscesses. The abscesses were solitary in 38 patients and multiple (two to seven lesions) in 10 patients. Clinical characteristics and the efficacy of the treatment were compared between these two groups. RESULTS: Biliary diseases and malignancies were more frequently observed in the solitary cases than multiple cases. A past history of surgery for cholelithiasis was seen exclusively in the multiple cases. E. coli was more frequently cultured from the abscesses in the multiple cases. Three of the multiple cases required more than a single catheter. All of the multiple cases and 36 of the 38 solitary cases were successfully treated. Two patients died of biliary peritonitis as a complication of the procedure, and three died of other underlining diseases. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonography-guided percutaneous drainage is effective even in patients with multiple pyogenic liver abscesses by adding catheters to obtain sufficient drainage.

Correlación Clínico-Inmunológica en Absceso Hepático Amebiano / Clinico-Immunological Correlation in Amebic Liver Abscess

INTRODUCCION: El curso de un Absceso Hepático Amebiano (AHA) con tratamiento adecuado presenta una etapa aguda con niveles altos de IgG, IgM, IgA, IgE y respuesta de hipersensibilidad retardada específica negativa, y una etapa de recuperación IgM, IgE e IgA no detectables y respuesta de hipersensibilidad retardada positiva; la IgG continúa positiva por largos períodos de tiempo. Existen muchas evidencias de que la protección en AHA es mediada por la respuesta inmune celular. En la etapa aguda predomina una respuesta humoral probablemente no protectora y en la fase de recuperación una respuesta celular protectora. En este estudio se pruebe la hipótesis de que la severidad del absceso es directamente proporcional al grado de respuesta inmune humoral. MATERIALES Y METODOS: Se estudiaron 10 pacientes con diagnóstico clínico, ecográfico y serológico compatible con AHA, tratados con metronidazol 750 mg/día vía oral por 15 días. Se determinió el tamaño del absceso, velocidad de sedimentación globular, niveles de bilirrubina, transaminasas, fosfatasa alcalina e IgG. Luego se realizaron análisis de regresión lineal relacionando los niveles de IgG con los indicadores clásicos de severidad en AHA (tamaño del absceso, niveles de transaminasas y bilirrubina). RESULTADOS: Los niveles de IgG estuvieron significativamente asociados con: Tamaño del absceso (P=0.0248), ALT (P=0.033) y bilirrubina indirecta (P=0.05); se observó una tendencia de correlación, aunque sin significancia estadística, con la AST (P=0.1529). El tamaño del absceso se correlacionó directamente con el tiempo de evolución (P=0.018); la AST (R=0.595, P=0.210) y ALT (R=0.761, P=0.135) se correlacionaron inversamente. Las diferencias entre los pacientes crónicos y agudos no fueron estadísticamente significativas para la ALT (P=0.0710) y AST (P=0.213). CONCLUSION: La respuesta humoral parece no tener efecto protector en AHA y los niveles de anticuerpos pudieran ser un buen indicador de severidad