Table 4.
Complications—RFA versus MWA (total 172 procedures: 140 RFA; 32 MWA; n = 122 patients)
| CTCAE grade I/II (n = 23 patients) | RFA | MWA | Treatment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17/140 (12.1 %) | 6/32 (18.8 %) | P = 0.39 | ||
| Probe injury | Pneumothorax | 1 | 1 | Conservative |
| Thermal injury | Fever | 2 | 1 | No |
| Nausea | 2 | 0 | No | |
| Pain | 4 | 0 | NSAIDS | |
| Pain and fever | 1 | 1 | NSAIDS | |
| Related to general procedure | Urinary tract infection | 0 | 1 | Antibiotics |
| Dysregulated diabetes mellitus | 1 | 0 | Insulin | |
| Plexus brachialis neuralgia | 0 | 1 | Neurology consult & physiotherapy | |
| Pneumonia | 3 | 0 | Antibiotics | |
| Transient neurological disorder | 2 | 0 | Neurology consult | |
| Grounding pad skin burn | 1 | – | Antibiotic cream | |
| Benign cardiac arrhythmia | 0 | 1 | No | |
| CTCAE grade III (n = 17 patients) | 11/140 (7.9 %) | 6/32 (18.8 %) | P = 0.094 | |
| Probe injury | Hepatic haemorrhage | 2 | 1 | Blood transfusion (2); coiling (1) |
| Thermal injury | Subphrenical abscess | 0 | 1 | Drainage |
| Liver abscess | 6 | 0 | Drainage | |
| Biloma/biliary leakage | 1 | 2 | Drainage | |
| Biliary obstruction | 0 | 1 | PTCD with stent placement | |
| Bilio-pleural fistula | 0 | 1 | Pleural drain & biliary stent for flow diversion | |
| Related to general procedure | Pulmonary embolism | 1 | 0 | Heparin i.v. |
| Bacteremia needing antibiotics | 1 | 0 | Antibiotics |