Life-threatening pica: Liver abscess from perforating foreign body
Authors: Perkins, Melissa1; Lovell, Joseph2; Gruenewald, Simon1
Source: Australasian Radiology, Volume 43, Number 3, August 1999 , pp. 349-352(4)
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing
Abstract:
A case is presented of a patient with a psychiatric illness and pica who developed a pyogenic liver abscess due to perforation of the duodenum by a pen. This report emphasizes the importance of ultrasound and computed tomography in making a rapid diagnosis. The relative superiority of ultrasound was revealed because an anaesthetic was not required for scanning, and in addition to the liver abscess, the precise location of the perforating foreign body was demonstrated.Keywords: abscess; foreign body; liver; pica; ultrasound
Document Type: Original article
DOI: 10.1046/j.1440-1673.1999.433670.x
Affiliations: 1: Department of Nuclear Medicine and Ultrasound, Westmead Hospital, Westmead and, 2: Department of Psychiatry, Cumberland Hospital, North Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia

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