Abstract
A 56-year-old man with thoracic empyema and multiple liver abscess was reported. He had visited Korea in June 1983 and had mild non-bloody diarrhea since then. He was admitted to our hospital on July 19, 1983, with a three-weeks history of right-sided the pain, high-fever, cough and sputum. Chest roentgenograms showed a right pleural effu-sion. The pleural aspirates was bloody-purulent effusion, but the culture was negative for microorganisms. Antibiotic therapy with clindamycin phosphate and amikacin was started for a presumed bacterial thoracic empyema. On the fifth hospital day, he com-plained of right upper quadrant pain. His abdomen became distended and hepatomegaly was noted. An ultrasound examination of the liver showed multiple abscesses in the liver. Based on the clinical information, though amebic cysts were not seen in a fresh stool and pleural aspirates, a presumptive diagnosis of amebic abscess was made, and the patient was treated with metronidazole. However, he died on the tenth hospital day by the fatal liver dysfunction. The serum indirect fluorescent antibody test for amebiasis was positive at a titre of 1:512. Agar gel diffusion test of serum and pleural effusion was positive for amebic antigen
