Decadron plus Emend reduces PES after drug eluting bead TACE for HCC

Taking Decadron combined with Emend prior to drug eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization helped prevent postembolization syndrome posttreatment in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, according to findings presented at the World Conference on Interventional Oncology.

“These findings suggest that outpatient [drug eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization] could be possible with premedication and a low incidence of hospital readmission for [postembolization syndrome]; this could allow the patient to recover more comfortably in their home and save both the patient and hospital time and money,” Abouelmagd Makramalla, MD, assistant professor of interventional radiology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, said in a press release.

Abouelmagd Makramalla

Makramalla and colleagues evaluated data of 71 patients with HCC who underwent drug eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization (DEB TACE) over 23 months at University of Cincinnati. A total of 113 procedures were performed and all patients received premedication with 8 mg of Decadron (dexamethasone, Merck) and 150 mg of Emend (fosaprepitant, Merck) via IV injection. The goal was to determine if the premedication regimen would reduce the risk for postembolization syndrome (PES), which can cause fever, nausea, vomiting and pain within 72 hours of the procedure.

Only 4.4% of patients were admitted to University of Cincinnati for PES following DEB TACE (n = 5) and 99 patients did not require a hospital admission or ED visit. Nine patients were admitted for reasons other than PES.

“Outpatient DEB TACE after premedication with dexamethasone and fosaprepitant is feasible with low incidence of admission for PES,” the researchers concluded. – by Melinda Stevens

Reference:

Young C, et al. Abstract #. Presented at: World Conference on Interventional Oncology; June 9-12, 2016; Boston.

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