Amebic Liver Abscess

Objective: Amebic liver abscess (ALA) is endemic to many areas of the world. In this study we sought to investigate the epidemiology, presentation, laboratory tests and imaging characteristics related to ALA in Oman and ultimately determine whether ALA is native to Oman or is it imported from abroad. Methods: This case series study was conducted at Royal Hospital Muscat, Oman. Patient data was extracted from the Royal Hospital patient database and included patients older than 13 years of age, discharged with the discharge diagnosis of ALA from January 2013 to December 2017. Results: 22 patients were included in the study. The results showed 18 Omani patients and 4 expatriates. Only two Omanis had history of travel abroad. 15 patients were male and 7 females. The average age was 45.2. The most common presentation was abdominal pain seen in 17 patients. Fever was seen in 13 patients. Alanine transferase was found to be elevated in 13 patients. 90% of patients had no symptomatic infections prior to developing ALA. Conclusion: The data suggests that ALA is endemic to Oman given the higher number of local patients and the lack of travel abroad in this population. As the number of treated ALA patients is rather small, it can be concluded that the occurrence of ALA is much lower in Oman as compared to other endemic areas. The majority of patients had no prior symptomatic infections and thus a method of control would be to screen and prevent amebic spread. Keywords: Amebic liver abscess, Amebiasis, liver abscess, Entamoeba histolytica, Royal Hospital, Oman