Quantitative T2 Mapping of Acute Pancreatitis

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Medical Imaging
• Pancreatic Diseases

Background:

• T2 mapping in acute pancreatitis (AP) offers potential for quantifying parenchymal edema.
• Quantitative T2 mapping may overcome limitations of existing scoring systems for AP assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate MR-derived pancreatic T2 mapping values in AP.
• To correlate these T2 values with established markers of disease severity.

Main Methods:

• Prospective single-center study involving 76 adult patients with AP.
• Utilized a fat-suppressed multiecho spin-echo prototype sequence for T2 quantification at 3T MRI.
• Compared T2 values with contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) and clinical severity parameters, using hospital stay as the primary endpoint.

Main Results:

• T2 values significantly correlated with length of hospital stay (r_s=0.29) and CT Severity Index (CTSI) (r_s=0.61).
• Higher T2 values were observed in patients with higher CTSI scores (88 ± 15 msec vs. 72 ± 14 msec).
• T2 mapping showed significant correlation with intensive care unit (ICU) admission and organ failure, unlike CTSI and Ranson scores.

Conclusions:

• T2 mapping is a valuable tool for assessing AP severity.
• It demonstrates higher sensitivity in correlating with disease severity parameters compared to conventional clinical and radiological scoring systems.