Fever and infectious complications after percutaneous acetic acid injection therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: incidence and risk factor analysis.
BACKGROUND
Ultrasound-guided percutaneous acetic acid injection (PAI) therapy is effective for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Posttreatment fever (>37.5 degrees C) may occur owing to acetic acid-induced tumor necrosis, but its incidence and clinical significance are not clear.


METHODS
A total of 402 treatment sessions in 127 consecutive patients undergoing PAI for HCC were prospectively studied. The incidence and risk factors associated with post-PAI fever were analyzed.


RESULTS
There were 37 (9.2%) episodes of fever occurring in 29 HCC patients after PAI. Patients who developed fever more often had large-sized (3.5+/-1.3 cm vs. 2.7+/-1.2 cm, P=0.0002) tumor and a higher injection volume (2.6+/-0.1 mL vs. 2.2+/-0.1 mL, P=0.001) of acetic acid compared with those without fever. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that tumor size >3 cm was the only significant predictor associated with occurrence of posttreatment fever (odds ratio: 4.4, 95% confidence interval: 2.2-8.9, P<0.001). Three patients, all of whom had HCC diameter >3 cm, had 4 episodes of bacteremia after treatment; one of them developed liver abscess that required percutaneous drainage.


CONCLUSIONS
Fever after PAI is not an uncommon event. Patients with tumor size >3 cm have a higher risk of posttreatment fever. Bacteremia and significant infectious complication could occur in a minority of patients. Prophylactic antibiotics before treatment may be necessary for high-risk patients.
Huo
Teh-Ia
TI
Institute of Pharmacology and Faculty of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine Departments of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. tihuo@vghtpe.gov.tw
Huang
Yi-Hsiang
YH
Huang
Hui-Chun
HC
Wu
Jaw-Ching
JC
Lee
Pui-Ching
PC
Chang
Full-Young
FY
Lee
Shou-Dong
SD
D000038:Abscess / Q000139:chemically induced; D019342:Acetic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000139:chemically induced; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000139:chemically induced*; D006801:Humans; D015552:Injections, Intralesional; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
D019342:Acetic Acid