Predictors and risk factors of bile duct injury after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma.

PURPOSE

Bile duct injury is a serious complication after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). If it is not detected early and treated actively, it will not only affect the subsequent tumor-related treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, but also may lead to serious consequences such as infection, liver failure and even death. To analyze the risk factors of bile duct injury after TACE in patients with HCC and explore the predictive indicators of bile duct injury after TACE, which is helpful for doctors to detect and intervene early and avoid the occurrence of serious complications.

METHOD

We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 847 patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent TACE for the first time in our interventional department. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether bile duct injury occurred after TACE: (1) bile duct injury group, N = 55; (2) no bile duct injury group, N = 792. The basic data, intraoperative conditions and the outcome of bile duct injury were analyzed. The chi-square test was used for comparison of enumeration data. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of measurement data. Risk factor analysis was performed using binary logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

Basic data and intraoperative conditions were compared between the bile duct injury group and the group without bile duct injury: preoperative alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (103.24 ± 32.77U/L vs. 89.17 ± 37.35U/L, P = 0.003); history of hepatobiliary surgery (36.4% vs. 20.8%, P = 0.011); intraoperative lipiodol volume (P = 0.007); combined use of gelatin sponge particles (65.5% vs. 35.0%, P < 0.001); hypovascularity (58.2% vs. 24.5%, P < 0.001); and embolization site (P < 0.001). Comparison of postoperative liver function between bile duct injury group and non-bile duct injury group: postoperative total bilirubin (43.34 ± 25.18umol/L vs. 21.94 ± 9.82umol/L, P < 0.001); postoperative γ-glutamyltransferase(GGT) (188.09 ± 55.62U/L vs. 84.04 ± 36.47U/L, P < 0.001); postoperative ALP(251.51 ± 61.51U/L vs. 99.92 ± 45.98U/L, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The dosage of lipiodol in TACE, supplementation of gelatin sponge particles, embolization site, and hypovascularity of the tumor are risk factors for biliary duct injury after TACE. After TACE, GGT and ALP increased ≥ 2 times compared with preoperative indicators as predictors of bile duct injury. Bile duct injury occurring after TACE can achieve good outcomes with aggressive management.