Clinical significance and mechanism of gas formation of pyogenic liver abscess due to Klebsiella pneumoniae.

We enrolled 22 patients with gas-forming pyogenic liver abscess in a study to assess the mechanism of gas formation. Klebsiella pneumoniae was cultured from specimens from all patients. Gas and pus samples from abscesses revealed four major components: nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen; this implicates mixed acid fermentation of glucose as the mechanism of gas formation.