Radiofrequency ablation vs surgical resection in elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in Milan criteria

Table 2 Clinical and perioperative characteristics of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in Milan criteria who underwent surgical resection and radiofrequency ablation

	Before PSM			After PSM
	RFA (n = 165)	Surgery (n = 429)	P value	RFA (n = 136)	Surgery (n = 136)	P value
Operative time (min) median (range)	25 (5-250)	205 (55-600)	0.002	25 (5-250)	190 (55-600)	0.001
Blood transfusion, n (%)	13 (8)	66 (15)	0.01	11(8)	23 (17)	0.04
Dindo-Clavien Classification, n (%)			0.001			0.002
I-II	163 (99)	378 (91)		134 (98)	121 (89)
III-IV	2 (1)	38 (9)		2 (1)	15 (11)
Postoperative complication, n (%)			0.001			0.002
Yes	31 (19)	188 (44)		28 (21)	75 (55)
No	134 (81)	241 (56)		108 (79)	61 (45)
Type of complication, n (%)
Liver failure	1 (1)	35 (8)	0.002	1 (0.7)	14 (10)	0.001
Ascites	3 (2)	60 (14)	0.003	3 (2)	17 (12)	0.002
Biliary leakage	0 (0)	9 (2)	0.064	0 (0)	3 (2)	0.25
Hemorrhage	4 (2)	19 (4)	0.340	3 (2)	11 (8)	0.51
Systemic Infection	4 (2)	30 (7)	0.03	4 (3)	14 (10)	0.03
Intra-abdominal abscess	0 (0)	23 (5)	0.00	0 (0)	8 (6)	0.007
Wound infection	2 (1)	12 (3)	0.37	2 (1)	7 (5)	0.17
Portal thrombosis	1 (1)	3 (1)	1.007	1 (0.7)	2 (1)	1
Pulmonary	7 (4)	33 (8)	0.15	6 (4)	15 (11)	0.07
Cardiac	1 (1)	18 (4)	0.03	1 (0.7)	8 (6)	0.03
Renal	1 (1)	18 (4)	0.03	1 (0.7)	6 (4)	0.12
Reoperation, n (%)	0 (0)	7 (2)	0.19	0 (0)	2 (1)	0.5
Postoperative treatment, n (%)	3 (2)	19 (4)	0.15	3 (2)	10 (7)	0.08
Length of hospital stay median (range)	2 (1-23)	6 (1-203)	0.00	2 (1-23)	7 (1-203)	0.00
Mortality 90 d, n (%)	3 (2)	13 (3)	0.001	3 (2)	4 (3)	1

Continuous variables were compared using an independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U test. Categorical variables were compared using the chi-square test and Kruskal-Wallis test respectively. PSM: Propensity score matching; RFA: Radiofrequency ablation.