MRI and S-MRCP findings in patients with suspected chronic pancreatitis: Correlation with endoscopic pancreatic function testing (ePFT)

✍ Scribed by N. Cem Balci; Adam Smith; Amir Javad Momtahen; Samer Alkaade; Rana Fattahi; Syed Tariq; Frank Burton

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 176 KB
• Volume: 31
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1053-1807
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.22085

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Purpose:

To review magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and secretin stimulated magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (S‐MRCP) findings of patients with suspected chronic pancreatitis and compare them with endoscopic pancreatic function testing (ePFT).

Materials and Methods:

MRI and S‐MRCP findings of 36 patients with clinically suspected chronic pancreatitis were reviewed. Baseline ductal changes, duodenal filling grades, and pancreatic duct caliber change (PDC) on S‐MRCP, mean values of pancreatic anteroposterior (AP) diameter, signal intensity ratio (SIR) between pancreas and the spleen on T1‐weighted fat saturated images, and arterial to venous (A/V) enhancement ratios were compared between groups of normal and abnormal pancreatic exocrine function determined by ePFT.

Results:

All patients (n = 24) with normal ePFT (HCO~3~ >80 mEq/L) had grade 3 normal duodenal filling. Patients with abnormal ePFT (HCO~3~ <80 mEq/L) (n = 12) had grade 1 (n = 1) and grade 2 (n = 11) diminished duodenal filling (P < 0.0001). PDC was 1.51 in the normal ePFT group versus 1.27 in the abnormal ePFT group (P = 0.01). No significant differences were found in terms of mean pancreatic AP diameter (21.8 vs. 19.8 cm), SIR (1.59 vs. 1.44), and A/V (1.08 vs. 1.01) between groups of normal/abnormal pancreatic exocrine function.

Conclusion:

Despite discrepancies between pancreatic exocrine function and the findings on standard MRI/MRCP, the S‐MRCP findings are comparable to ePFT in the evaluation of chronic pancreatitis. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2010;31:601–606. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.