Risk factors for deterioration of long-term liver function after radiofrequency ablation therapy

Table 1 Patient characteristics (n = 123) at the start of the follow-up period

Gender (male/female)	71/52
Age (yr)	69.7 ± 8.0
Hepatitis (HBV/HCV)	12/111
CP score (5/6/7/8)	79/22/15/7
CP class (A/B/C)	102/21/0
Size of tumor (mm)	20.6 ± 7.7
No. of tumor(s) (1/2/3/4)	78/30/13/2
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)	0.97 ± 0.4
Albumin (g/dL)	3.7 ± 0.6
Prothrombin time (%)	90.5 ± 15
Platelet count (104/μL)	11.1 ± 5.0
AST (IU/L)	58.2 ± 32.1
ALT (IU/L)	53.0 ± 39.7
Hepatitis condition RVH group/CAH group	13/110
Prior TACE with TACE/without TACE	110/13

HBV: Hepatitis B virus; CP: Child-Pugh; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; RVH: Remission status of viral hepatitis; CAH: Chronic active hepatitis; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; TACE: Transarterial chemoembolization.

Table 2 Univariate analysis to identify risk factors that contributed to a worsening Child-Pugh scores following radiofrequency ablation treatment (n = 123)

Variable	HR	95%CI	P-value
Gender (female vs male)	1.93	0.83-4.47	0.128
Age (yr) (< 70 vs≥ 70)	1.05	0.45-2.44	0.906
CP class (B vs A)	5.03	2.17-11.7	0.000
Size of tumor (mm) (≥ 20 vs < 20)	2.01	0.84-4.81	0.116
Number of tumors (≥ 2 vs 1)	1.47	0.62-3.47	0.379
Total bilirubin (mg/dL) (≥ 1.0 vs < 1.0)	3.48	1.35-8.99	0.010
Albumin (g/dL) (< 3.5 vs≥ 3.5)	8.52	3.12-23.2	0.000
Prothrombin time (< 80% vs≥ 80%)	2.66	1.14-6.23	0.024
Platelet count (104/μL) (< 10 vs≥ 10)	5.04	1.86-13.7	0.001
AST (IU/L) (≥ 40 vs < 40)	7.06	1.57-31.8	0.011
ALT (IU/L) (≥ 35 vs < 35)	4.01	1.32-12.2	0.015
Prior TACE vs no TACE	1.05	0.24-4.48	0.952
Frequency of RFA treatments for recurrent HCC (≥ 2 vs < 2)	1.51	0.64-3.53	0.344

AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; TACE: Transarterial chemoembolization; CP: Child-Pugh; RFA: Radiofrequency ablation; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma.

Table 3 Multivariate analysis to identify risk factors that contributed to a worsening Child-Pugh scores following radiofrequency ablation (n = 123)

Variable	HR	95%CI	P-value
CP class (B vs A)	5.07	2.13-12.1	0.000
Platelet count (104/μL) (< 10 vs≥ 10)	3.83	1.36-10.8	0.011
AST (IU/L) (≥ 40 vs < 40)	7.01	1.30-37.9	0.024
ALT (IU/L) (≥ 35 vs < 35)	1.21	0.35-4.19	0.761

A worsening Child-Pugh (CP) scores was defined as a 2 point increase. AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase.

Table 4 Multivariate analysis of risk factors that contributed to a worsening Child-Pugh scores following radiofrequency ablation for hepatitis C virus patients (n = 111)

Variable	HR	95%CI	P-value
CP class (B vs A)	4.90	2.05-11.7	0.000
Platelet count (104/μL) (< 10 vs≥ 10)	3.96	1.40-11.2	0.009
AST (IU/L) (≥ 40 vs < 40)	5.25	0.98-28.0	0.052
ALT (IU/L) (≥ 35 vs < 35)	1.11	0.33-3.73	0.865

A worsening Child-Pugh (CP) score was defined as a 2 point increase. AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase.