Do patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis have a greater frequency of pancreatic abnormalities at MRI than patients with other liver diseases?
OBJECTIVE
It has been proposed that there is an increased frequency of pancreatic abnormalities in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Our purpose is to compare the frequency of pancreatic abnormalities detected at MRI in patients with PSC and to compare these findings with those found in a matched cohort with other liver diseases.


METHODS
We identified 29 patients who had either a histologic or an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography diagnosis of PSC and 29 age- and gender-matched patients with liver disease without PSC who underwent MRI at 1.5 T. The protocol included breath-hold T1-weighted gradient echo, echo train, fast spin echo, T2-weighted images and dynamic gadolinium-enhanced MRI. Two blinded readers retrospectively evaluated the MR images for abnormalities of pancreatic size and morphology, T1 and T2 signal intensity, duct size and irregularities, arterial-phase contrast enhancement, focal pancreatic masses, cystic lesions, peripancreatic fluid/edema, ascites, and capsular-like rim surrounding the pancreas.


RESULTS
The prevalence of pancreatic and peripancreatic abnormalities was 10 of 29 (35%) in PSC patients and 14 of 29 (48%) in control patients. MR findings included ascites (9 PSC, 12 controls), peripancreatic edema (7 PSC, 11 controls), atrophy (4 PSC, 3 control), increased T2 signal (3 PSC, 4 controls), cystic lesions (2 PSC, 3 controls), abnormal T1 signal (1 PSC, 2 controls), and dilated pancreatic ducts (3 PSC, 2 controls). Quantitative parameters were not significantly different between PSC patients and the control subjects with pancreatic findings.


CONCLUSIONS
There is no significant difference in pancreatic abnormalities detected on MRI between patients with PSC and those with other liver diseases.
Resnick
Daniel
D
Department of Radiology, NYU Medical Center, 530 First Avenue, Basement HCC, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Krinsky
Glenn A
GA
Lavelle
Michael T
MT
Lee
Vivian S
VS
Keogan
Mary T
MT
Morrin
Martina M
MM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015209:Cholangitis, Sclerosing / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010179:Pancreas / Q000473:pathology*; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D015995:Prevalence