title: Pancreatic duct patterns in acute pancreatitis: a MRI study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the MRI findings of the pancreatic duct in patients with acute pancreatitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 239 patients with acute pancreatitis and 125 controls were analyzed in this study. The severity of acute pancreatitis was graded using the MR severity index (MRSI) and the Acute Physiology And Chronic Healthy Evaluation II(APACHE II) scoring systems. The number of main pancreatic duct (MPD) segments visualized, and both MPD diameter and pancreatic duct disruption were noted and compared with the severity of acute pancreatitis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The frequency of MPD segment visualization in the control group was higher than that in the acute pancreatitis group (p<0.05). The number of MPD segments visualized was negatively correlated with the MRSI score (p<0.05) and the APACHE II score (p<0.05). There was no difference in the MPD diameter between the acute pancreatitis and control groups or among the patients with different severities of acute pancreatitis (p>0.05). The prevalence of pancreatic duct disruption was 7.9% in the acute pancreatitis group. The prevalences of pancreatic duct disruption were 4.8% and 15.3% in the mild and severe acute pancreatitis groups based on the APACHE II score, respectively, and were 0%, 5.7% and 43.5% in the mild, moderate and severe acute pancreatitis groups according the MRSI score, respectively. The prevalence of pancreatic duct disruption was correlated with the severity of acute pancreatitis based on the APACHE II score (p<0.05) and MRSI score (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The pancreatic duct in acute pancreatitis patients was of normal diameter. The number of MPD segments visualized and visible pancreatic duct disruption on MRI may be supplementary indicators for determining the severity of acute pancreatitis.
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, Sichuan, the People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Xiao Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yi Fan
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Tian Wu
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xiao Hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Xiao Xiao
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Chi
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010183:Pancreatic Ducts / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011859:Radiography; D012720:Severity of Illness Index