title: Prevalence of Pancreatic Steatosis at a Pediatric Tertiary Care Center.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Pancreatic steatosis in adults has been proposed to be associated with obesity; however, data on pancreatic steatosis in children are lacking. Our study aimed to measure the prevalence of pancreatic steatosis in children and to examine its association with obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective chart review study of 232 patients 2 to 18 years old who underwent abdominal computed tomographic imaging in the emergency department or inpatient ward within a 1-year time span and from whom demographics, anthropometrics, and medical history were obtained. Our radiologist determined mean Hounsfield unit (HU) measurements for the pancreas, liver, and spleen. A difference of -20 between the pancreas and spleen (psHU) and between the liver and spleen was used to determine fatty infiltration.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 232 patients, 11.5% had a psHU less than -20. The prevalence of pancreatic steatosis was more than double among obese children (19%) than that in nonobese groups (8%). There is a significant correlation between the psHU and liver-spleen HU (r = 0.50, P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pancreatic steatosis was identified in 10% of the study population and is associated with obesity. Also, pancreatic steatosis is significantly associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. This is the first study assessing the prevalence of pancreatic steatosis in children.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
authors.forename: Yen H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
authors.forename: Brigid A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Bingham
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
authors.forename: Cynthia S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
authors.forename: Susan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Greenfield
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
authors.forename: Susan D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: John
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
authors.forename: Lawrence H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
authors.forename: Mona A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Eissa
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000473:pathology*; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000150:complications; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed