Follow-up of percutaneous microwave (MW) ablation of hepatic lesion: predictive value of CT at 24-h compared with CT at 1 month

To retrospectively assess the predictive value of the CT performed at 24 h, compared with the CT performed at 1 month, in the evaluation of the technical success of microwave (MW) ablation of hepatic lesions. In a single center, 50 patients with HCC underwent percutaneous MW ablation between November 2016 and March 2019. Each patient underwent a contrast-enhanced CT exam at 24 h and at 1 month after the procedure. For each patient, was assessed the presence or absence of residual disease, the appearance of a new lesion, complications, and the involvement of the hepatic capsule, both at 24-h and at 1 month. Overall correlation between residual disease, appearance of a new nodule and complications was also assessed. A total of 50 hepatic lesions were treated with US-guided MW ablation. Patients’ mean age was 70.9 years (range 28–87 years). Mean nodule diameter was 17.6 mm (range 7–35 mm). Contingency tables and the χ² test showed a strong association when looking at capsule involvement (accuracy: 100%), residual disease (accuracy: 90%; p-value 0.003), and the appearance of a new HCC nodule (accuracy: 88%; p-value 0.007); regarding complications, the accuracy was 78% (p-value 0.014). Optimal correlation was reached in 62% of cases, moderate correlation in 26%, minimum correlation in 10% of cases; no cases of zero correlation were recorded. CT at 24 h and 1 month showed comparable efficacy in evaluating residual disease after MW thermal ablation of liver lesions. However, further studies are needed to assess which factors may cause false-negative results at the 24-h CT.