Complications of blind versus ultrasound-guided percutaneous liver biopsy in children

Background and study aimsLiver biopsy is a well-established procedure in the diagnosis and follow-up of liver diseases. Complications of liver biopsy are rare but potentially lethal. The aim of this study was to evaluate the complications of percutaneous liver biopsy and to compare the complications of blind and ultrasound-guided percutaneous liver biopsy in paediatric wards of Nemazee Hospital of Shiraz in the south of Iran.Patient and methodTo complete the questionnaire, registered information of liver biopsies due to different causes in paediatric patients between 2008 and 2012 was retrospectively reviewed. All children aged between 0 and 18 years, who underwent liver biopsy (due to any indication), participated in this study.ResultsLiver biopsies were obtained from 210 patients. Seven of 210 cases were excluded due to unreliable data. A total of 209 liver biopsies were done in the rest of the cases (n = 203). Of all cases of liver biopsies, 22 (10.5%) experienced complications after biopsy. Pain (n = 7) was the most frequent complication in 22 cases of liver biopsy. Mortality rate was one (0.5%) due to rupture of subcapsular haematoma. In terms of complication (p = 0.592), there was no significant difference statistically between patients with blind liver biopsy (n = 16) and patients with ultrasound-guided liver biopsy (n = 6).ConclusionIn terms of complications, there was no significant difference when the patients were evaluated with and without ultrasound-guided biopsy.