Premium
Amoebic liver abscess in pregnancy
Author(s) -
Read Kerry M,
KennedyAndrews Sue,
Gordon David L
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1479-828x.2001.tb01220.x
Subject(s) - amoebic liver abscess , entamoeba histolytica , pregnancy , dysentery , liver abscess , medicine , abscess , complication , general surgery , pathology , surgery , biology , immunology , genetics
Summary: We describe the case of an amoebic liver abscess (ALA) presenting in the third trimester of pregnancy which raised both diagnostic and treatment dilemmas as well as being associated with preterm labour. Amoebic liver abscess is caused by the protozoan organism Entamoeba histolytica which is endemic in many parts of the developing world. Invasion of the colonic mucosa results in the clinical syndrome of amoebic dysentery and in some cases dissemination to the liver or other organs occurs resulting in abscess formation. 1 Amoebic liver abscess is a rare complication of pregnancy and there are few reports in the world literature, these being mostly from endemic areas. 2 ‐ 3 ‐ 4 ‐ 5 We present here the case of a Caucasian female who presented with an amoebic liver abscess in the third trimester of pregnancy, thirteen months after returning to Australia from a short holiday in Bali.