Assessment of the Pancreas with Strain Elastography in Healthy Children: Correlates and Clinical Implications

To determine strain index (SI) values at various locations in the pancreas and to investigate the relationship between age, gender, body weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and elasticity values of the pancreas in healthy children.

This cross-sectional trial was performed in 147 healthy children who underwent transabdominal ultrasonography for strain elastography of the pancreas. A convex, 3.5-5-MHz probe was used to obtain the images. Baseline descriptive data including age (months), body weight (kg), height (cm), and BMI (kg/m2) were noted. Strain index values were calculated for the head, body, and tail of the pancreas, and a mean value was obtained. The relationship between demographic variables and SI values was assessed. Correlation between variables with normal distribution was evaluated with Pearson's correlation coefficient and Spearman's rho.

The average SI values in girls and boys were 1.30±0.34 and 1.32±0.22, respectively. There was no significant difference between SI values measured in the head, trunk, and tail of the pancreas (p=0.594). The average SI value did not differ between girls and boys (p=0.751). Correlation analysis revealed that SI was positively associated with age (p=0.005), body weight (p=0.004), height (p=0.003), and BMI (p=0.005).

This study determined normal elasticity values of the pancreas in healthy children. SI values of pancreas change with age, body weight, height, and BMI in the pediatric population. Information obtained from healthy children can serve as a baseline against which pancreatic diseases can be examined.