Letter to the Editor: Time-based evidence supporting early percutaneous catheter drainage in pyogenic liver abscess

Table 1 Baseline clinical characteristics stratified by timing of percutaneous catheter drainage, mean ± SD/n (%)

Characteristics	PCD within 3 days (n = 269)	PCD after 3 days (n = 97)	P value
Age (years)	64.5 ± 14.9	68.3 ± 13.7	0.028
Male sex	173 (64.3)	57 (58.8)	0.397
Significant alcohol drinking	24 (8.9)	12 (12.4)	0.436
Underlying disease
Malignancy	36 (13.4)	19 (19.6)	0.193
Biliary disease	62 (23.0)	34 (35.1)	0.030
Diabetes mellitus	83 (30.9)	30 (30.9)	1.000
Hypertension	106 (39.4)	41 (42.3)	0.710
Chronic liver disease	17 (6.3)	1 (1.0)	0.073
Laboratory findings
WBC (mm3)	14.4 ± 6.7	14.1 ± 7.3	0.760
Platelet (× 1000/mm3)	288.3 ± 282.3	260.2 ± 165.9	0.295
ESR (mm/hour)	69.3 ± 30.4	60.4 ± 31.7	0.019
AST (IU/L)	89.7 ± 104.6	92.5 ± 80.3	0.790
ALT (IU/L)	81.4 ± 87.7	77.6 ± 64.3	0.655
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)	1.2 ± 1.0	1.5 ± 1.9	0.183
Albumin (g/dL)	3.3 ± 0.5	3.4 ± 0.5	0.126
Creatinine (mg/dL)	1.0 ± 0.8	1.4 ± 1.4	0.015
hs-CRP (mg/L)	180.4 ± 80.7	154.8 ± 87.9	0.009
Procalcitonin (ng/mL)	16.4 ± 31.1	22.0 ± 27.4	0.245
Characteristics of abscess
Number (single vs multi, %)	85 (31.6)	18 (18.6)	0.021
Maximal diameter (cm)	6.2 ± 2.8	5.6 ± 2.2	0.035

PCD: Percutaneous catheter drainage; WBC: White blood cells; ESR: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; hs-CRP: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein.