Hepatic amebiasis; Extraintestinal amebiasis; Abscess - amebic liver

An antibiotic medicine called metronidazole (Flagyl) is the usual treatment for liver abscess. A medication such as iodoquinol must also be taken to get rid of all the amebas in the intestine, to prevent the disease from coming back. This can usually be delayed until after the abscess has been treated.

In rare cases, the abscess may need to be drained to help relieve some of the abdominal pain.

Without treatment, the abscess may rupture and spread into other organs, leading to death. Persons who receive treatment have a very high chance of a complete cure or having only minor complications.

The abscess may rupture into the abdominal cavity, the lining of the lungs, the lungs, or the sac around the heart. The infection can also spread to the brain.

Call your health care provider if you develop symptoms of this disease, especially if you've recently traveled to an area where the disease is known to occur.

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Liver cell death

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Review Date: 05/30/2009
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)