2010/10/29 by Kanishka W. Garvin, James H. Willig · 2 citations
Medicine · #Abdominal pain #Abscess #Amoebiasis #Amoebic Infections and Treatments #Antibiotics #Asymptomatic #Biology #Colonoscopy #Colorectal cancer #Diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis #Entamoeba histolytica #Gastroenterology #Immunology #Internal medicine #Liver abscess #Medicine #Metronidazole #Microbiology #Pancreatitis Pathology and Treatment #Pathology #Quadrant (abdomen) #Serology #Surgery
paper · pdf · doi:10.4269/ajtmh.2010.10-0101
published in American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 83(5), 961 (American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene)
openalex publication_date 2010/10/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26
A 45 year-old woman presented with a 6-week history of constant right upper quadrant abdominal pain, 20-lb weight loss, and worsening fevers. The patient had immigrated to the United States from Mexico 7 years earlier. She was febrile, experienced pain with light palpation of the right upper quadrant, and had normal serum transaminases, normal alkaline phosphatase, and mildly elevated total bilirubin of 1.1 mg/dL. Abdominal computerized tomography revealed contiguous peripherally enhancing, thick-walled, hypodense hepatic dome abscesses measuring 9.5 6.1 cm ( Figures Entamoeba histolytica is a protozoan that can cause asymptomatic colonization, amebic colitis, or extraintestinal abscesses. 1-3 Transmission of infective cysts is fecal-oral, and patients usually have a history of exposure from an endemic area. Symptoms include a history of fever and right upper quadrant pain. 1, 3 Diagnosis can be aided with imaging studies and confirmed with serological studies and real-time polymerase chain reaction assays. 3, 4 Invasive disease should be treated with metronidazole for 10 days and paromomycin to eliminate colonization for 7 days. 3 In rare cases, surgical intervention may be necessary. 3