Percentile reference curves for normal pancreatic dimensions in Indian children

This study aims at determining the normal pancreatic dimensions in pediatric age groups considering demographic parameters and thus developing percentile reference curves for normal pancreatic dimensions in Indian children.

It is a cross-sectional study.

A hospital-based cross-sectional study was planned at a children hospital during July 2016-December 2017, in which the pancreatic dimensions of 1078 normal children in the age range of 1 month to 19 years were obtained through abdominal ultrasonography (USG). The demographic details like age and gender were obtained for each child.

Percentile reference curves were obtained with reference to age for each gender type independently. Generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape were used to obtain percentile plots for each pancreatic part.

The mean age of children was 6.65 ± 4.43 years and the male-to-female ratio was 1.63:1. The head, body, and tail dimensions increased with the age. For head, up to 25^th percentile, the curves were similar for both genders, while subsequent curves were higher in males as compared to females. Similar was the observation for body of pancreas. For tail, up to 75^th percentile, the curves were similar for both genders.

The normal ranges can be supportive in diagnosis of illness related to pancreas. The dimensions within 5-95^th percentile along with iso-echogenicity can be regarded as normal, while the dimensions beyond these limits along with change of echogenicity can be suspected for pancreatic disorders.