Transabdominal Ultrasound Real-time Tissue Elastography as a Screening Method for Early Chronic Pancreatitis

Shimizu Akinori

Ishii Yasutaka

Serikawa Masahiro

Tsuboi Tomofumi

Kurihara Keisuke

Tatsukawa Yumiko

Kawamura Ryota

Tsushima Ken

Saito Yuhei

Sekito Tsuyoshi

Nakamura Shinya

Hirano Tetsuro

Fukiage Ayami

Mori Takeshi

Ikemoto Juri

Chayama Kazuaki

Hiroshima Journal of Medical Sciences

[PISSN] 0018-2052

[EISSN] 2433-7668

[NCID] AA00664312

Background and Purpose: The concept of early chronic pancreatitis was proposed in Japan with the aim to improve the prognosis of patients with chronic pancreatitis. Endoscopic ultrasonography plays an important role in early diagnoses, but is limited by its invasiveness and poor objectivity. Hence, this study aimed to determine the usefulness of transabdominal ultrasound real-time tissue elastography as a screening method for early chronic pancreatitis.
Methods: We retrospectively examined 73 patients who underwent simultaneous ultrasound real-time tissue elastography and endoscopic ultrasonography from 2011 to 2014. The correlation between feature values (MEAN, %AREA, COMP) calculated by real-time tissue elastography and the Rosemont classification of endoscopic ultrasonography diagnostic criteria for chronic pancreatitis, and the diagnostic ability of ultrasound real-time tissue elastography to recognize “indeterminate for chronic pancreatitis” findings, which correspond to early chronic pancreatitis, were evaluated.
Main Results: Based on the Rosemont classification, 26 patients were “normal”, 16 were “indeterminate for chronic pancreatitis”, 13 were “suggestive of chronic pancreatitis”, and 18 were “consistent with chronic ancreatitis”. There were significant correlations between the feature values (MEAN, %AREA, COMP) and the Rosemont classification (p < 0.001; ρ = –0.788, 0.779, and 0.489, respectively). The area under the curve for the ability of MEAN to diagnose “indeterminate for chronic pancreatitis” was 0.889 (sensitivity, 93.8%; specificity, 76.9%).
Conclusions: The feature values calculated by ultrasound real-time tissue elastography were correlated with the Rosemont classification. Ultrasound real-time tissue elastography may be a useful screening method for early chronic pancreatitis.

Chronic Pancreatitis

Elasticity Imaging Techniques

Ultrasonography

Endosonography

Pancreatic Diseases

Early Medical Intervention

eng

Hiroshima University Medical Press

Copyright (c) 2019 Hiroshima University Medical Press

[ISSN] 0018-2052

[ISSN] 2433-7668

[NCID] AA00664312

[DOI] 10.24811/hjms.68.2-3_35

[DOI] https://doi.org/10.24811/hjms.68.2-3_35