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Magnetic resonance study of the pancreatic duct
M M Calvo1, A Calderón, I Heras
1Servicio de Digestivo, Hospital de Galdakao, Galdakao, Vizcaya, 48960, España.
Aim:
to prospectively determine the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) in the evaluation of the normal and diseased pancreatic duct.
Methods:
patients seen during a 6-month period with a diagnosis of biliary tract or pancreatic disease underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) after a previous MRCP. The pancreatic duct was evaluated with both techniques in 37 patients.
Results:
the pancreatic duct appeared normal in ERCP in 27 patients, and also appeared normal in MRCP in 25 of these patients (specificity 93%). ERCP showed moderate-severe pancreatic duct dilation in 8 patients, in whom the same diagnosis was reached with MRCP (sensitivity 100%). The causes of dilation were chronic pancreatitis (2 patients), pancreatic cancer (3 patients) and ampullary tumor (2 patients); in 1 patient the findings with both techniques were suggestive of neoplasm of the head of the pancreas or focal chronic pancreatitis. Pancreas divisum was diagnosed in 2 patients by both methods, and the predominant dorsal duct as well as the ventral duct were visualized by MRCP.
Conclusions:
MRCP is an accurate technique for evaluating the normal or diseased pancreatic duct, and for determining the underlying disease.