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Clinical features

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

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The clinical picture of a subphrenic abscess is one of a patient who develops features of toxicity 2 to 21 days after making an initial recovery from an episode of peritonitis or an operation; these features are:

  • swinging fever
  • malaise, nausea, weight loss
  • there may also be upper abdominal pain that radiates to shoulder tip
  • there may also be breathlessness, due to lower lobe lung collapse or development of a pleural effusion

On examination:

  • swinging pyrexia
  • sometimes abdominal tenderness in the subcostal region and/or signs of a pleural effusion

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