Improvement of pancreatic ultrasound imaging after secretin administration

The pancreas is usually well recognized by ultrasound, but in some cases it is obscured by the presence of gas in the stomach and duodenum. Water and other orally administered fluids produced poor results. In this study we stimulated pancreatic juice secretion by a standard dose of intravenous secretin in 24 normal subjects, and continuously monitored the pancreatic region for a period of 20 min. Four to five minutes after hormone administration pancreatic juice outflow into the duodenum generated a fluid-filled echofree area around the head of the pancreas, allowing excellent visualization of its boundaries and other channel structures (distal common bile duct, pancreatic duct and gastroduodenal artery). This method should be utilized in selected patients whenever a pathological condition of the pancreatic head region is suspected.