Invasive liver abscess syndrome caused by klebsiella pneumoniae: First Tanzanian experience

Abstract

Over the past 20 years there has been growing awareness of community-acquired primary liver abscess caused by strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) especially in patients of Asian descent, a minority of which are characterized by metastatic spread. A common and frequent destructive complication is endophthalmitis as well as the involvement of the central nervous system (CNS), causing suppurative meningitis or brain abscess. Here we report a case of invasive liver abscess caused by K. pneumoniae in an Asian patient who presented to our hospital in Tanzania with bilateral lower limb swelling for 6 weeks with acute onset of difficulty in breathing.