Pancreatic signal intensity on Tl- weighted fat saturation MR images: Clinical correlation

✍ Scribed by Corrine B. Winston; Donald G. Mitchell; Eric K. Cutwater; Saundra M. Ehrlich

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 650 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1053-1807
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.1880050307

✦ Synopsis

To determine whether signal intensity (SI) of the pancreas that was less than that of liver on Tlweighted fat-suppressed (TlFS) magnetic resonance (MR) images could be used to help predict the presence of pancreatic disease. three blinded independent observers graded pancreatic 8 1 relative to liver and/or renal cortex in 89 patients on TlFS images. Results were correlated with patient age and diagnosis. Among the 47 patients with a clinically normal pancreas, pancreatic SI was higher than that of liver in 42 and equal to that of liver in the rest. none of whom had evidence of fatty pancreas. These five patients had a mean age of 71 yean, compared with 56 yeam for patients whose pancreas was more intense than liver (P = .02). Of the 42 patients with a clinically abnormal pancreas, only eight had pancreatic SI higher than that of liver. The positive predictive value for normal pancreas of an SI higher than that of liver was 84% and the positive predictive value for abnormal pancreas of 81 lees than or equal to that of liver w.8 88%. with an overall accuracy of 86%. If normal pancreatic 8 1 is defined as higher than that of liver for patients younger than 60 yeam and as equal to or higher than that of liver for patients older than 60 years, the podtive predictive value of normal 81 becomes 76%. the positive predictive value of decreased 81 becomes 100%. and the overall accuracy becomes 83%. Pancreatic S I less than that of liver correlates highly with pancreatic disease. especially in younger patients. Mildly decreased pancreatic 81, equal to that of nondiseased liver, is common in older persona without clinically apparent pancreatic disease.

I n d a tanu: