Efficacy and safety of pain management in perioperative period of TACE in patients with HCC: a single-center, parallel-group, randomized trial

The study compared two pain management methods in 105 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). The first group received hydromorphone via patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), while the second group received morphine as needed. At 24 hours, patients in the PCA group had lower pain scores (0.39 versus 1.04 on a 0-10 scale), with only 21.6% experiencing pain of 4 or higher compared to 50% in the morphine group. The PCA group required fewer rescue opioids (3.9% versus 50%). The main adverse effect of PCA was increased dizziness (31.4% versus 3.7%). Overall safety and quality of life did not differ significantly between groups.