Hepatic artery embolization: factors predisposing to postembolization pain and nausea

PURPOSE

Analysis of preprocedural factors that may be helpful in predicting the severity of pain and nausea after hepatic arterial embolization (HAE) for liver neoplasms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

During a 2-year period, 62 patients (33 men, 29 women) underwent 130 palliative lobar HAEs for unresectable liver neoplasms. The hepatic lobe was embolized with 150-250-microm polyvinyl alcohol particulates with or without lipiodol and/or chemotherapeutic agents. Postembolization pain was rated at rest and during movement with use of an 11-point verbal pain scale, and postembolization nausea was assessed with use of a four-point verbal scale, each at two separate time periods. Daily morphine use was also recorded. Primary analysis was made using the first embolization procedure. One-way analysis of variance and Spearman correlation coefficients were used to identify associated predictors. Plots of the outcomes versus the pre-embolization liver function tests and sensitivities and specificities were used to identify the strength of the associations for prediction purposes. A secondary analysis was performed in patients who underwent multiple embolizations.

RESULTS

No strong categorical predictors were found from the ANOVA on the severity of postembolization pain or nausea. There were significant (P < .05) associations between the pre-embolization liver function tests and the pain outcomes only. However, while these laboratory values demonstrate strong associations with resultant pain, they are not strong predictors of pain and morphine requirements for any individual patient. The morphine requirements were highly associated (P < .0001) with the pain scores at rest and with movement. The authors did not find significant differences on any of the pain outcomes or morphine requirements between the first and second embolizations.

CONCLUSION

Laboratory values and patient age are not predictors for the severity of postembolization pain and nausea. Postembolization pain is a significant complication and poses a continuing challenge to the physician with regards to patient management.

Patients' perception of stopping or continuing treatment of cervical dystonia with botulinum toxin type A

Despite widespread commercial acceptance of botulinum toxin (BTX) for idiopathic cervical dystonia (ICD), no follow up has been performed to determine when and why some patients stop therapy. It has been suggested that some patients who stop BTX treatment may do so because of permanent improvement. We surveyed 155 patients with ICD who were treated over 6 years with BTX to determine when and why patients stopped treatment with BTX, and what adverse events and changes in dose and/or frequency of treatments occurred in those who continued treatment. Of the 133 (86.6%) individuals returning the surveys, 104 continued on BTX treatment and 29 had stopped therapy. Of the 29 subjects no longer receiving BTX, 11 individuals had only received one or two injections. Prior surgical treatment for ICD did not influence their decision to stop therapy. Of those 104 of 133 continuing on BTX treatments, two thirds of the subjects reported the injections always help, whereas one quarter estimated one set of injections did not help. One third of those continuing treatment reported the first injection was most helpful, whereas another one third felt all injections were similarly effective. After an initial adjustment, BTX dosages and frequency of treatment remained stable in this group.