This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Management

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The most effective management of a subphrenic abscess is drainage. This may be achieved under ultrasound control or via an open operation.

If the abscess is diagnosed early and has no air or fluid level then this may be treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics, e.g. gentamicin, benzylpenicillin, and metronidazole. If the patient remains symptomatic for more than 5 days then conservative management should be abandoned and abscess drainage performed.

Note that gentamicin levels should be measured regularly and doses of gentamicin should be reduced if there is renal impairment.

Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page