Effect of perioperative parecoxib sodium on postoperative pain control for transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective randomized trial

Objectives Pain is one of the most common side effects of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment. This study aimed to assess the analgesic effect of parecoxib sodium for postoperative pain control in patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing TACE. Materials and methods This randomized placebo-controlled prospective clinical study was conducted at a single cancer centre. Patients were randomly assigned to receive parecoxib sodium (experimental group; n = 60) or 0.9 % sodium chloride (control group; n = 60) 1 h before TACE and once every 12 h for 2 days after TACE. Pain level, morphine consumption, adverse events, and quality of life were evaluated and compared between the two groups. Results Pain scores, percentage distribution of pain categories, and morphine consumption were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group ( P