Postoperative Symptoms in Chinese Liver Cancer Patients: Network Analysis

Patients with primary liver cancer (PLC) experience a range of symptoms in the early postoperative period. Symptoms include cancer-related symptoms and adverse effects of treatment. Exploring the core symptoms and their dynamics in the early post-hepatectomy patients may help provide better symptom management programs. The purpose of this study was to identify the core symptoms in early post-hepatectomy patients and to explore the trajectory of their dynamics. During the period from March 2021 to September 2022, a total of 281 patients diagnosed with PLC and undergoing radical curative surgery were recruited from the hepatobiliary surgery departments of two hospitals in Eastern China, among whom 249 individuals (88.60%) agreed to participate in the study. A comprehensive symptom assessment was administered to the patients 1-2 days after surgery (T1) and 1-2 days before discharge (T2). Network analysis was used to identify core symptoms in early post-hepatectomy patients based on symptom severity.