A prospective study of the lumps in the right hypochondrium

Abstract

Background: The abdominal cavity can harbour a varied spectrum of diseases. Abdominal lumps are one of the commonest disorders in this region. The clinical presentation, diagnosis, minimal investigations and optimum treatment of the lumps in the right hypochondrium were studied in detail in present study.Methods: The prospective observational study was carried out for 24 months. 60 consecutive patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria were taken up for the study. Calculation and analysis of data was done by using MS Excel.Results: The lumps in the right hypochondrium were most common in the 31-40 years age group in the present study. Majority of the lumps were found to be intraperitoneal (65%), of which 45% were neoplastic in nature. 68.3% as compared to 31.7% of lumps had an organ of origin which was not anatomically situated in the right hypochondrium viz. from right kidney and right adrenal. Hepatic lumps were found to be the commonest (35%), of which 14.3% were malignant tumors. Gall bladder carcinoma was more common in 40-60 years with female preponderance. Only 26.7% patients presented with the complaint of lump in abdomen. The commonest complaint was pain in the abdomen followed by vomiting. In 88.3% cases surgery was undertaken for curative or palliative purposes.Conclusions: Of all the lumps in the right hypochondrium, intraperitoneal lumps were more common with abdominal pain as commonest presenting symptom. The commonest lumps were found to be hepatic lumps. Incidence of Neoplastic masses was more than infections and infestations.