CT patterns in the differential diagnosis of the etiology of liver abscesses

Abstract

Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) have become the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in oncohematological patients and hematopoietic stem-cell transplant recipients (HSCT). But at the same time, fungal infections are less than 2 % of the causes of liver abscesses in patients without onco-hematological diseases. Doctors from hospitals with onco-hematology departments encounter this more often and know the typical picture of fungal liver abscesses, but for others doctors, who do not have sufficient experience, this finding may not seem like something familiar. This is why knowing the typical patterns of fungal liver disease is so important. We have studied the typical patterns of abscesses in patients with hematological oncology and present a clinical case of patient D, 48 years old. Differential diagnosis of the etiological agent of the abscess is difficult, but in some cases the picture is specific: in the described case, the multiplicity and small size of the foci made it possible at an early stage to effectively identify the fungal nature of the disease and begin the right treatment.

Keywords

• fungal liver infections
• hepatic abscesses
• liver abscess