Safety and efficacy of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt combined with palliative treatment in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 1 Baseline characteristics in the two groups

Characteristic	Group A	Group B	P value
Gender, M/F	115/97	76/60	0.526
Age, mean ± SD, yr	46.32 ± 12.43	44.79 ± 13.62	0.539
Child–Pugh A/B/C	54/129/34	33/83/20	0.462
MELD score, mean ± SD	10.21 ± 5.25	11.37 ± 4.17	0.645
BCLC staging A/B/C/D	18/107/53/34	12/67/34/23	0.518
Viral hepatitis	125	88	0.803
Chronic ethanol consumption	66	31	0.461
Cryptogenic hepatitis	26	17	0.724
VB	170	114	0.163
RA	47	22	0.217
Both VB and RA	69	35	0.167
Laboratory tests
AFP, ng/mL	468.53 ± 34.27	513.64 ± 25.19	0.625
Alanine transaminase, U/L	58.24 ± 14.32	61.14 ± 12.06	0.723
Aspartate transaminase, U/L	63.42 ± 16.21	59.34 ± 14.16	0.439
Alkaline phosphatase, U/L	196.23 ± 64.38	183.34 ± 84.64	0.376
Total bilirubin, μmol/L	29.13 ± 4.35	31.06 ± 5.24	0.634
Albumin, g/L	28.41 ± 4.37	27.13 ± 5.43	0.361
Prothrombin time, s	17.21 ± 5.34	19.42 ± 6.43	0.428
Platelet count, × 109/L	73.18 ± 21.43	67.46 ± 18.54	0.621
Clinical presentation
Abdominal distention	127	78	0.153
Abdominal pain	146	86	0.167
Weakness	153	89	0.184
Poor appetite	167	92	0.076
Jaundice	23	11	0.129
Splenomegaly	117	73	0.289
Lower limbs edema	25	14	0.141

No difference (P > 0.05) could be seen in terms of age, sex, Child–Pugh score, and MELD score, laboratory tests and clinical presentations. AFP: α-Fetoprotein; MELD score: Model for end-stage liver disease score, VB: Variceal bleeding; RA: Refractory ascites; BCLC staging: Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging; SD: Standard deviation.