Table 1. Patient and treatment characteristics for both groups.
| Variable | Anesthetic technique (before matching) | P | Anesthetic technique (after matching) | Standardized difference (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEA (n=415) | GA (n=386) | GEA (n=386) | GA (n=386) | |||
| Age (year) | 59.9±12.5 | 56.7±11.6 | 0.349 | 56.9±11.5 | 56.7±11.6 | 1.23 |
| Gender, n (%) | 0.309 | 2.24 | ||||
| Female | 129 (31.1) | 133 (34.7) | 131 (34.1) | 133 (34.7) | ||
| Male | 286 (68.9) | 253 (65.3) | 255 (65.9) | 253 (65.3) | ||
| ASA, n (%) | 0.876 | 1.91 | ||||
| I–II | 339 (81.6) | 328 (85.1) | 326 (84.6) | 328 (85.1) | ||
| III–IV | 76 (18.4) | 58 (14.9) | 60 (15.4) | 58 (14.9) | ||
| Surgical procedure, n (%) | 0.454 | 1.09 | ||||
| Open | 258 (62.4) | 230 (59.7) | 233 (60.4) | 230 (59.7) | ||
| Video-assisted | 157 (37.6) | 156 (40.3) | 153 (39.6) | 156 (40.3) | ||
| Surgical type | 0.521 | 2.31 | ||||
| Intent upfront surgery | 189 (45.5) | 168 (43.5) | 165 (42.7) | 168 (43.5) | ||
| Salvage upfront surgery | 174 (42.0) | 158 (41.0) | 161 (41.7) | 158 (41.0) | ||
| Palliative upfront surgery | 52 (12.5) | 60 (14.5) | 60 (15.6) | 60 (14.5) | ||
| Surgical methods | 0.326 | |||||
| Non-anatomical liver resection | 232 (56.0) | 212 (55.0) | 210 (54.4) | 212 (55.0) | 2.60 | |
| Left hepatectomies | 101 (24.3) | 94 (24.3) | 96 (24.8) | 94 (24.3) | ||
| Right hepatectomies | 82 (19.7) | 80 (20.7) | 80 (20.8) | 80 (20.7) | ||
| Anesthesia time, n (%) | 0.474 | |||||
| ≤3 h | 234 (56.5) | 231 (59.9) | 225 (58.5) | 231 (59.9) | 2.52 | |
| >3 h | 181 (43.5) | 155 (40.1) | 161 (41.5) | 155 (40.1) | ||
| Liver cirrhosis, n (%) | 0.793 | 1.45 | ||||
| No | 134 (32.3) | 128 (33.3) | 132 (34.3) | 128 (33.3) | ||
| Yes | 281 (67.7) | 258 (66.7) | 254 (65.7) | 258 (66.7) | ||
| Preoperative AFP, n (%) | 0.560 | 3.65 | ||||
| ≤20 ng/mL | 278 (67.0) | 266 (69.0) | 262 (68.0) | 266 (69.0) | ||
| >20 ng/mL | 137 (33.0) | 120 (31.0) | 124 (32.0) | 120 (31.0) | ||
| Tumor encapsulation, n (%) | 0.658 | 3.02 | ||||
| Complete | 214 (51.6) | 193 (50.0) | 195 (50.6) | 193 (50.0) | ||
| None | 201 (48.4) | 193 (50.0) | 191 (49.4) | 193 (50.0) | ||
| TNM staging, n (%) | 0.808 | 5.36 | ||||
| I–II | 324 (78.3) | 282 (73.3) | 281 (72.9) | 282 (73.3) | ||
| III | 91 (21.7) | 104 (26.7) | 105 (27.1) | 104 (26.7) | ||
| Tumor size, n (%) | 0.375 | 4.23 | ||||
| ≤5 cm | 307 (74.2) | 296 (76.7) | 294 (76.2) | 296 (76.7) | ||
| >5 cm | 108 (25.8) | 90 (23.3) | 92 (23.8) | 90 (23.3) | ||
| Tumor number, n (%) | 0.413 | 3.25 | ||||
| Single | 299 (72.1) | 288 (74.8) | 282 (73.1) | 288 (74.8) | ||
| Multiple | 116 (27.9) | 98 (25.2) | 104 (26.9) | 98 (25.2) | ||
| Vascular invasion, n (%) | 0.756 | 1.02 | ||||
| No | 304 (73.2) | 314 (81.2) | 309 (80.2) | 314 (81.2) | ||
| Yes | 111 (16.8) | 72 (18.8) | 77 (19.8) | 72 (18.8) | ||
| Estimated blood loss, n (%) | 0.560 | 1.68 | ||||
| ≤400 mL | 312 (75.4) | 265 (68.7) | 264 (68.4) | 265 (68.7) | ||
| >400 mL | 103 (24.6) | 121 (31.3) | 122 (21.6) | 121 (31.3) | ||
| Intraop Blood transfusion, n (%) | 0.816 | 2.36 | ||||
| No | 336 (81.0) | 315 (81.6) | 314 (81.4) | 315 (81.6) | ||
| Yes | 79 (19.0) | 71 (19.4) | 72 (18.6) | 71 (19.4) | ||
Data shown as mean ± SD or n (%). Grade of surgical complications: Clavien-Dindo classification. GEA, general anesthesia combined with thoracic epidural anesthesia; GA, general anesthesia; AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; ASA, American Society of Anesthesiologists. P≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.