Contrast-enhanced ultrasonographic findings in a brucellar hepatic abscess

Human brucellosis commonly involves the liver and manifests as nonspecific or granulomatous hepatitis. Although the development of a brucellar hepatic abscess is rare, it can be difficult to accurately diagnose given that histopathologic analysis is often not diagnostic, and the bacterium is seldom isolated from pus cultures. Therefore, serologic tests and imaging play an important role in the diagnosis of a brucellar abscess. The characteristics of a brucellar abscess on conventional ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been reported previously. 1,2 However, to the best of our knowledge, the features of a brucellar hepatic abscess on contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) have not been described previously. © 2008 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.