Treatment of amoebic liver abscess with one day and low dosage of ornidazole

Abstract

A clinical trial of ornidazole (Tiberal), using a low dosage and one day treatment for amoebic liver abscess, was performed at the Tropical Unit, Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok. Intravenous injection of 1,000 mg of ornidazole every 12 hours for one day (2 injections) was given to one group of 22 amoebic liver abscess patients. The same dose was given orally to another group of 9 patients. In addition, 1,000 mg of oral ornidazole was given every 12 hours for 3 days to one case in this second group. The treatment also included liver aspiration every other day from the big abscess and every 3 days from the small abscesses. The results of treatment were successful. All the patients were cured after follow up for 3-6 months, except one case treated by oral ornidazole, who had a recurrence of the abscess after follow up for 3 months. The cure rate was 96.9%. The observed side-effects were dizziness (2 cases), pain at the site of injection with hot sensation along the injected vessel (1 case) and loss of consciousness immediately after injection for 2-5 minutes (2 cases).