The Efficacy and Safety of Steroids for Preventing Postembolization Syndrome after Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

The Efficacy and Safety of Steroids for Preventing Postembolization Syndrome after Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Acta Med Okayama. 2019 Aug;73(4):333-339 Authors: Kuwaki K, Nouso K, Miyashita M, Makino Y, Hagihara H, Moriya A, Adachi T, Wada N, Yasunaka Y, Yasunaka T, Takeuchi Y, Onishi H, Nakamura S, Ikeda F, Shiraha H, Takaki A, Okada H Abstract Steroids are often administered at the time of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE), a standard treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with the expectation of preventing postembolization syndrome. Here we investigated the precise effects of steroids on TACE. We prospectively enrolled 144 HCC patients from 10 hospitals who underwent TACE. Three hospitals used steroids (steroid group, n=77) and the rest did not routinely use steroids (control group, n=67). The occurrence of adverse events and the algetic degree at 1-5 days post-treatment were compared between the groups. Fever (grades 0-2) after TACE was significantly less in the steroid group (56/21/0) compared to the control group (35/29/3, p=0.005, Cochran-Armitage test for trend). The suppressive effect of steroids against fever was prominent in females (p=0.001). Vomiting (G0/G1/ G2-) was also less frequent in the steroid group (70/5/2) versus the control group (53/10/3), but not significantly (p=0.106). The algetic degree and the grade of hematological adverse events, including hy...
Source: Acta Med Okayama - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Tags: Acta Med Okayama Source Type: research