Table 3.
Effects of variables on outcomes (univariate analysis)
| Variable | No pain/mild pain (n = 485) | Moderate pain/severe pain (n = 97) | P value |
| Age (yr), mean ± SD | 60.79 ± 11.39 | 56.87 ± 10.99 | 0.002 |
| Sex (%) | 0.870 | ||
| Female | 68 (14) | 13 (13.4) | |
| Male | 417 (86) | 84 (86.6) | |
| Disease type (%) | 0.010 | ||
| No surgery | 298 (61.4) | 73 (75.3) | |
| Recurrence after surgery | 187 (38.6) | 24 (24.7) | |
| TACE history (%) | 293 (60.4) | 40 (41.2) | < 0.001 |
| History of abdominal pain after TACE (%) | 51 (10.5) | 22 (22.7) | < 0.001 |
| Pathological properties (%) | 0.110 | ||
| HCC | 231 (47.6) | 49 (50.5) | |
| ICC | 8 (1.6) | 5 (5.2) | |
| Unknown | 224 (46.2) | 41 (42.3) | |
| Other | 22 (4.5) | 2 (2.1) | |
| Tumor location (distance to liver capsule) (%) | 0.085 | ||
| > 1 cm | 245 (81.40) | 50 (90.91) | |
| ≤ 1 cm | 56 (18.60) | 5 (9.09) | |
| Tumor size (%) | < 0.001 | ||
| ≤ 5 cm | 294 (60.6) | 40 (41.2) | |
| > 5 cm | 191 (39.4) | 57 (58.8) | |
| Number of tumors (%) | 0.010 | ||
| ≤ 2 (non-multiple) | 175 (36.1) | 22 (22.7) | |
| > 2 (multiple) | 310 (63.9) | 75 (77.3) | |
| Invasion of blood vessels (%) | 131 (27) | 45 (46.4) | < 0.001 |
| Blank microsphere (%) | 112 (23.1) | 26 (26.8) | 0.430 |
| Polyvinyl alcohol particles (%) | 54 (11.1) | 9 (9.3) | 0.590 |
| Method of TACE (%) | < 0.001 | ||
| Traditional TACE | 296 (61) | 40 (41.2) | |
| DEB-TACE | 189 (39) | 57 (58.8) | |
| Prophylactic analgesics (%) | 0.780 | ||
| Parecoxib Na | 58 (12) | 16 (16.5) | |
| Flurbiprofen | 97 (20) | 15 (15.5) | |
| Dezocine | 209 (43.1) | 43 (44.3) | |
| Pentazocine | 24 (4.9) | 5 (5.2) | |
| None | 48 (9.9) | 10 (10.3) | |
| Two painkillers | 49 (10.1) | 8 (8.2) | |
| Number of TACE, median (IQR) | 2 (1, 3) | 1 (1, 2) | < 0.001 |
| Dosage of lipiodol, median (IQR) | 3 (0, 6) | 0 (0, 8) | 0.179 |
TACE: Transarterial hepatic chemoembolization; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; ICC: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma; PVA: Polyvinyl alcohol; DEB: Drug-eluting beads; IQR: Interquartile range.