Intraperitoneal rupture of amebic liver abscess.

The traditional management of amebic liver abscess which has ruptured into the peritoneal cavity has been conservative and 70% to 90% fatal. Laparotomy with complete toilet of the abscess and the peritoneal cavity has shown encouraging results. A comparative study of the management of 36 cases of intraperitoneal rupture of amebic liver abscess was carried out. Twenty-one cases were treated by laparotomy with 85.5% survival. Mortality for 15 cases treated conservatively was 80%. We believe that intraperitoneal rupture of amebic liver abscess can now be treated by laparotomy with much better results than were possible before the advent of drugs such as metronidazole.