MRI of the pancreas transplant: lack of correlation between imaging and clinical status

Twenty-five MRI scans were performed on 14 patients with cadaveric pancreatic transplants to determine the role of this modality in the evaluation of transplant dysfunction. Our population included 12 normal transplants and 13 recipients with pancreatic graft dysfunction (either rejection or pancreatitis). Six of the latter patients had two or more scans permitting reassessment of the same transplant in various states of health. T1-and T2-weighted MR images were evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively to see if certain patterns were associated with clinical status. We found that although MRI was capable of producing excellent images of the in situ pancreatic transplant, this modality was unable to reliably distinguish the normal from the abnormal transplant. This conclusion differs from prior assessments; possible reasons for this are discussed.