Gastric perforation of a left lobe amoebic liver abscess

Liver abscess is the most common extra-intestinal manifestation of invasive amoebiasis, Perforation of the abscess is a potential life-threatening complication. We report a case where perforation into the stomach was successfully managed conservatively. The initial diagnosis in this case was made by gastroscopy and biopsy. To our knowledge, only five cases of gastric perforation of an amoebic liver abscess have been reported in the English literature. In none of these cases was the diagnosis established by histology of gastric biopsy specimens. (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.