Efficacy of dexamethasone and N-acetylcysteine combination in preventing post-embolization syndrome after transarterial chemoembolization in hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of patients with intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma

	N-acetylcysteine + dexamethasone	Placebo	P value
Sex
Male	44 (88%)	45 (90%)	0.75
Age (mean ± SD)	60.8 ± 10.52	60.46 ± 11.27	0.88
Underlying disease
Diabetic mellitus	17 (34%)	16 (32%)	0.83
Hypertension	22 (14%)	28 (56%)	0.23
Dyslipidemia	14 (28%)	18 (36%)	0.40
CKD	1 (2%)	2 (4%)	0.56
HIV	1 (2%)	1 (2%)	1.00
Tumor characteristic
Size
Median (range)	5.5 (1.4-19)	7.95 (1.4-17.2)	0.39
> 3 cm	40 (80%)	42 (84%)	0.65
Number
Median (range)	2 (1-10)	2 (1-10)	0.21
1	23 (46%)	17 (34%)	0.56
≥ 2	27 (54%)	33(66%)
Etiology
Hepatitis B	23 (46%)	28 (56%)	0.31
Hepatitis C	15 (30%)	12 (24%)	0.50
Alcoholic	22 (44%)	20 (40%)	0.67
Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis	3 (6%)	4 (8%)	0.70
Staging
BCLC-A	6 (12%)	3 (6%)	0.23
BCLC-B	44 (88%)	47 (94%)
Child-Pugh Score
A (5-6)	40 (80%)	43 (86%)	0.42
B (7-8)	10 (20%)	7 (14%)
ALBI score (mean ± SD)	-2.61 ± 0.58	-2.54 ± 0.53	0.54
Alpha fetoprotein (ng/mL)
< 20	18 (36%)	19 (38%)	0.50
20-200	14 (28%)	9 (18%)
201-1000	10 (20%)	9 (18%)
> 1000	8 (16%)	13 (26%)
Episode of TACE
1	16 (32%)	18 (36%)	0.67
2-5	34 (68%)	32 (64%)
Embolization agents
Mitomycin (mg)
5-10	1 (2%)	3 (6%)	0.07
10.1-15	20 (40%)	10 (20%)
15.1-20	29 (58%)	37 (74%)
Lipiodol (mL)
< 5	1 (2%)	1 (2%)	0.47
5-10	13 (26%)	8 (16%)
> 10	36 (72%)	41 (82%)
Level of embolization
Left hepatic artery	17 (34%)	14 (28%)	0.51
Right hepatic artery	46 (92%)	44 (88%)	0.50
Middle hepatic artery	5 (10%)	3 (6%)	0.46
≥ 2 major branches	18 (36%)	8 (16%)	0.02

ALBI: Albumin-bilirubin; BCLC: Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; CKD: Chronic kidney disease; HIV: Human immunodeficiency virus; SD: Standard deviation; TACE: Transarterial chemoembolization.