Pyogenic liver abscesses in nonimmunocompromised children.

Pyogenic liver abscesses are rare in previously healthy children. This review reports ten such cases of pyogenic abscess seen between 1963 and 1984. The mean age in these children was 6.3 years. One child died. Of the nine survivors, five had successful open surgical drainage. Two abscesses were drained percutaneously. Another abscess drained spontaneously into the biliary system, and one abscess was treated with antibiotics alone. The single most helpful diagnostic test was abdominal ultrasonography. Our experience is evaluated in the context of other reports of pyogenic abscesses in children.