Table 2.
Effects of L-carnitine in overall study patients.
| Parameter (mean ± SD) | Pretreatment | After TACE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 week | 4 weeks | 12 weeks | |||
| Control group (N = 26) | CP score | 5.88 ± 0.99 | 6.24 ± 1.05†∗ | 6.04 ± 1.07 | 6.39 ± 1.55†∗ |
| S. albumin (g/dL) | 3.35 ± 0.56 | 2.94 ± 0.57†∗∗∗ | 3.29 ± 0.58‡∗∗∗ | 3.21 ± 0.63‡∗∗ | |
| PT (%) | 89.2 ± 17 | 85.9 ± 16.9†∗ | 88.2 ± 17.7 | 87.1 ± 18.2 | |
| T. bilirubin (mg/dL) | 0.93 ± 0.46 | 1.13 ± 0.51†∗ | 0.96 ± 0.55‡∗ | 1.21 ± 0.7†∗,§∗ | |
| ALT (IU/L) | 41.8 ± 28.8 | 56.2 ± 31†∗ | 38.7 ± 21.1‡∗ | 37.6 ± 18.8 | |
| AST (IU/L) | 57 ± 37.8 | 50.8 ± 26.5 | 55.3 ± 31.6 | 60.3 ± 44.3 | |
| GGTP (IU/L) | 66.3 ± 67.3 | 84.5 ± 100.3†∗ | 91.8 ± 84.7†∗∗∗ | 59.9 ± 74.7 | |
| Ascitis (no/moderate/massive) | 21/5/0 | 20/5/1 | 19/5/2 | 17/5/4 | |
| Encephalopathy (no/yes) | 26/0 | 26/0 | 26/0 | 26/0 | |
|
| |||||
| L-carnitine group (N = 24) | CP score | 6.04 ± 1.04 | 6.17 ± 0.86 | 5.75 ± 0.73‡∗∗ | 5.91 ± 0.92 |
| S. albumin (g/dL) | 3.22 ± 0.57 | 3.05 ± 0.46†∗ | 3.33 ± 0.5†∗,‡∗∗ | 3.26 ± 0.49‡∗ | |
| PT (%) | 86.7 ± 19.4 | 91.5 ± 18.4 | 93.3 ± 16.8†∗ | 90.7 ± 16.4 | |
| T. bilirubin (mg/dL) | 1.02 ± 0.57 | 0.97 ± 0.55 | 0.93 ± 0.46 | 1.05 ± 0.63 | |
| ALT (IU/L) | 32.6 ± 17.6 | 41.7 ± 23.1†∗ | 34.7 ± 20.8 | 33.9 ± 11.6 | |
| AST (IU/L) | 51.5 ± 25.9 | 50.2 ± 32.1 | 54.5 ± 28 | 49.4 ± 15.6 | |
| GGTP (IU/L) | 70.7 ± 80.9 | 91.4 ± 124.4 | 97.1 ± 148.6 | 61.8 ± 43.4 | |
| Ascitis (no/moderate/massive) | 21/3/0 | 22/2/0 | 24/0/0 | 23/0/1 | |
| Encephalopathy (no/yes) | 24/0 | 24/0 | 24/0 | 24/0 | |
SD: standard deviation; CP: Child-Pugh; S. albumin: serum albumin; PT: prothrombin time; T. bilirubin: total bilirubin; ALT: alanine aminotransferase; AST: aspartate aminotransferase; GGTP: gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase.
†Significant difference compared with baseline; ‡significant difference compared with 1 week after TACE; §significant difference compared with 4 weeks after TACE; ∗ P < 0.05; ∗∗ P < 0.01; ∗∗∗ P < 0.001.