Amebic liver abscesses have an overwhelming male preponderance (15:1, male to female) and occur in the right lobe of the liver about 75% of the time.
Heavy alcohol consumption is a risk factor and they occur in primarily in endemic areas of South and Central America and as such are now being seen increasingly in the Hispanic immigrant population in the United States.
The majority of these abscesses can be treated with antibiotics alone (usually oral metronidazole for 7-10 days) although the overall mortality rate is reported to be 2% to 4%.
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