title: Paediatric MRCP: 10 year experience with 195 patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) has now largely substituted endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in evaluating the biliary tree in adults giving its high sensitivity and specificity. Whilst smaller series published to date suggests this may be extrapolated to the paediatric population, its routine use in children is still debatable. The aim of our study is therefore to review the utility of MRCP in a large series of paediatric patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  All MRCPs performed in our institution were examined for diagnostic quality, spectrum of diagnoses and correlation with direct cholangiography (DC) were available. Correlation with histopathology results and final clinical diagnosis was made in the subset of patients in whom a MRCP had been performed to evaluate the presence of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 245 MRCP examinations performed on 195 patients and 219 were diagnostic. There was 100% MRCP and DC concordance in the 16 cases where both had been performed. MRCP yielded a sensitivity of 89% in the subset of patients with PSC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MRCP was a valuable diagnostic tool in our paediatric population. Image quality is sufficiently diagnostic and shows good correlation with clinical diagnosis in conditions encountered in our population, including primary sclerosing cholangitis, post liver transplant biliary strictures, post surgical complications, dilated common bile ducts, choledochal cysts, cholelithiasis and choledocholithaisis.
authors: Department of Medical Imaging, Royal Children's Hospital, Flemington Rd, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia. cristina.philpott@rch.org.au
authors: Cristina
authors: C
authors: Philpott
authors: Jeremy
authors: J
authors: Rosenbaum
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Moon
authors: Elhamy
authors: E
authors: Bekhit
authors: Surekha
authors: S
authors: Kumbla
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016477:Artifacts; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D049448:Cholangiopancreatography, Magnetic Resonance; D015209:Cholangitis, Sclerosing / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity