Effect of a poloxamer 407-based thermosensitive gel on minimization of thermal injury to diaphragm during microwave ablation of the liver

Table 1 Comparison of thermal injury to the diaphragm among the three groups (n = 8)

Diaphragmatic injury	Gel group,	Saline group,	Control group,	P value
	n = 8	n = 8	n = 8
Injury rate	0	5%	8%
Size in cm	0	0.9 ± 0.7a	1.7 ± 0.3bc	0.0011
Grade, score	0	0.6 ± 1.1d	1.8 ± 0.7ef	0.0011

¹Statistically significant difference, Mann-Whitney test. The maximum diameter of thermal injury to the diaphragmatic surface is reported.

^aP = 0.011 vs gel group;

^bP = 0.001 vs gel group;

^cP = 0.005 vs saline group;

^dP = 0.010 vs gel group;

^eP = 0.001 vs gel group;

^fP = 0.040 vs saline group.

Table 2 Comparison of the size of microwave ablation zones among the three groups (n = 8)

	Gel group	Saline group	Control group	P value
Dimension 1 in cm	2.06 ± 0.38	2.14 ± 0.15	2.19 ± 0.14
Dimension 2 in cm	1.28 ± 0.18	1.26 ± 0.22	1.38 ± 0.14
Dimension 3 in cm	1.24 ± 0.18	1.23 ± 0.22	1.34 ± 0.16
Volume in cm3	1.76 ± 0.66	1.75 ± 0.54	2.11 ± 0.43	0.353

Table 3 Comparison of hepatic and renal functions before and after microwave ablation (n = 8)

Indicator	Baseline	Postablation		P value
		Day 3	Day 7
ALT in U/L	45.38 ± 5.24	41.57 ± 3.96	41.50 ± 4.14	0.166
AST in U/L	50.79 ± 3.95	47.25 ± 3.28	45.63 ± 5.10	0.062
BUN in mmol/L	7.50 ± 0.90	7.14 ± 1.10	7.12 ± 1.05	0.708
Cr in μmol/L	66.24 ± 4.14	62.77 ± 7.16	62.04 ± 3.39	0.244

ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; BUN: Blood urea nitrogen; Cr: Creatinine.