Spiral CT of the pancreas

Computed tomography (CT) is the modality of choice for evaluation of pancreatic disease. In this prospective study, images obtained with spiral CT, which enables examination of a region of the body in a single breath-hold, were compared with those obtained by means of dynamic CT with automatic table incrementation in two groups of 30 patients referred for suspected disease of the pancreas. In both groups, vascular opacification and anatomic detail were analyzed with a grading system (1 = poor, 2 = good, 3 = excellent). Vascular opacification received mean grades of 2.78 and 2.33 in the spiral CT and control groups, respectively. Anatomic detail received mean grades of 2.63 and 2.42 in the spiral CT and control groups, respectively. Respiratory motion artifact was absent in all spiral CT examinations but was present in 17 of 30 control CT examinations. Images obtained with spiral CT showed superior vascular opacification and reduced respiratory artifact with smaller amounts of contrast agent (90 mL vs 120 mL) compared with those obtained with dynamic CT.