title: Acute pancreatitis with gradient echo T2*-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To study gradient recalled echo (GRE) T2*-weighted imaging (T2*WI) for normal pancreas and acute pancreatitis (AP).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-one patients without any pancreatic disorders (control group) and 117 patients with AP were recruited. T2* values derived from T2*WI of the pancreas were measured for the two groups. The severity of AP was graded by the magnetic resonance severity index (MRSI) and the Acute Physiology and Chronic Healthy Evaluation II (APACHE II) scoring system. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between the T2* values and AP severity. The usefulness of the T2* value for diagnosing AP and the relationship between the T2* values and the severity of AP were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On GRE-T2*WI, the normal pancreas showed a well-marinated and consistently homogeneous isointensity. Edematous AP, as well as the non-necrotic area in necrotizing AP, showed ill-defined but homogeneous signal intensity. AP with pancreatic hemorrhage showed a decreased T2* value and a signal loss on the signal decay curve. The T2* value of pancreas in the AP group was higher than that of the control group (t=-8.20, P<0.05). The T2* value tended to increase along with the increase in MRSI scores but not with the APACHE II scores (P>0.05). AP was associated with a one standard deviation increment in the T2* value (OR =1.37; 95% CI: 1.216-1.532).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  T2*WI demonstrates a few characteristics of the normal pancreas and AP, which could potentially be helpful for detecting hemorrhage, and contributes to diagnosing AP and its severity.
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Wenhua Road 63, Nanchong 637000, China.
authors.forename: Meng Yue
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Wenhua Road 63, Nanchong 637000, China.
authors.forename: Tian Wu
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Wenhua Road 63, Nanchong 637000, China.
authors.forename: Xiao Hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Wenhua Road 63, Nanchong 637000, China.
authors.forename: Xing Hui
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Wenhua Road 63, Nanchong 637000, China.
authors.forename: Si Yue
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Wenhua Road 63, Nanchong 637000, China.
authors.forename: Nian
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Wenhua Road 63, Nanchong 637000, China.
authors.forename: Xiao Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); T2 star; T2*; gradient echo; hemorrhage; pancreatitis