Magnetic resonance imaging of pancreatitis: An update

Magnetic resonance(MR)imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and staging of acute and chronic pancreatitis and may represent the best imaging technique in the setting of pancreatitis due to its unmatched soft tissue contrast resolution as well as nonionizing nature and higher safety profile of intravascular contrast media,making it particularly valuable in radiosensitive populations such as pregnant patients,and patients with recurrent pancreatitis requiring multiple follow-up examinations.Additional advantages include the ability to detect early forms of chronic pancreatitis and to better differentiate adenocarcinoma from focal chronic pancreatitis.This review addresses new trends in clinical pancreatic MR imaging emphasizing its role in imaging all types of acute and chronic pancreatitis,pancreatitis complications and other important differential diagnoses that mimic pancreatitis.

Short-and long-term results of endoscopic ultrasoundguided transmural drainage for pancreatic pseudocysts and walled-off necrosis

AIM To evaluate the short-and long-term results of endoscopic ultrasound-guided transmural drainage(EUS-GTD) for pancreatic fluid collection(PFC) and identify the predictive factors of treatment outcome for walled-off necrosis(WON) managed by EUS-GTD alone.METHODS We investigated 103 consecutive patients with PFC who underwent EUS-GTD between September 1999 and August 2015. Patients were divided into four groups as follows: WON(n = 40), pancreatic pseudocyst(PPC; n = 11), chronic pseudocyst(n = 33), and others(n = 19). We evaluated the short-and long-term outcomes of the treatment. In cases of WON, multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the predictor variables associated with the treatment success. In addition, PFC recurrence was examined in patients followed up for more than 6 mo and internal stent removal after successful EUS-GTD was confirmed.RESULTS In this study, the total technical success rate was 96.1%. The treatment success rate of WON, PPC, chronic pseudocyst, and others was 57.5%, 90.9%, 91.0%, and 89.5%, respectively. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography using the multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the treatment success rate of WON was significantly lower in patients with more than 50% pancreatic parenchymal necrosis(OR = 17.0; 95%CI: 1.9-150.7; P = 0.011) and in patients with more than 150 mm of PFC(OR = 27.9; 95%CI: 3.4-227.7; P = 0.002).The recurrence of PFC in the long term was 13.3%(median observation time, 38.8 mo). Mean amylase level in the cavity was significantly higher in the recurrence group than in the no recurrence group(P = 0.02).CONCLUSION The reduction of WON by EUS-GTD alone was associated with the proportion of necrotic tissue and extent of the cavity. The amylase level in the cavity may be a predictive factor for recurrence of PFC.

Pancreatitis-imaging approach

Pancreatitis is defined as the inflammation of the pancreas and considered the most common pancreatic disease in children and adults. Imaging plays a significant role in the diagnosis, severity assessment, recognition of complications and guiding therapeutic interventions. In the setting of pancreatitis, wider availability and good image quality make multi-detector contrastenhanced computed tomography(MD-CECT) the most used imaging technique. However, magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) offers diagnostic capabilities similar to those of CT, with additional intrinsic advantages including lack of ionizing radiation and exquisite soft tissue characterization. This article reviews the proposed definitions of revised Atlanta classification for acute pancreatitis, illustrates a wide range of morphologic pancreatic parenchymal and associated peripancreatic changes for different types of acute pancreatitis. It also describes the spectrum of early and late chronic pancreatitis imaging findings and illustrates some of the less common types of chronic pancreatitis, with special emphasis on the role of CT and MRI.

Review on acute pancreatitis attributed to COVID-19 infection

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)is known to cause gastrointestinal symptoms.Recent studies have revealed COVID-19-attributed acute pancreatitis(AP).However,clinical characteristics of COVID-19-attributed AP remain unclear.We performed a narrative review to elucidate relation between COVID-19 and AP using the PubMed database.Some basic and pathological reports revealed expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and transmembrane protease serine 2,key proteins that aid in the entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)into the pancreas.The experimental and pathological evaluation suggested that SARS-CoV-2 infects human endocrine and exocrine pancreas cells,and thus,SARS-CoV-2 may have a direct involvement in pancreatic disorders.Additionally,systemic inflammation,especially in children,may cause AP.Levels of immune mediators associated with AP,including interleukin(IL)-1β,IL-10,interferon-γ,monocyte chemotactic protein 1,and tumor necrosis factor-αare higher in the plasma of patients with COVID-19,that suggests an indirect involvement of the pancreas.In real-world settings,some clinical features of AP complicate COVID-19,such as a high complication rate of pancreatic necrosis,severe AP,and high mortality.However,clinical features of COVID-19-attributed AP remain uncertain due to insufficient research on etiologies of AP.Therefore,high-quality clinical studies and case reports that specify methods for differential diagnoses of other etiologies of AP are needed.

Epidemiological trends in acute pancreatitis:A retrospective cohort in a tertiary center over a seven year period

BACKGROUND Acute pancreatitis(AP)remains a major cause of hospitalization and mortality with important health-related costs worldwide.Using an electronic database of a large tertiary center,we estimated the incidence,etiology,severity and costs of hospitalized AP cases in southern Romania.AIM To estimate the incidence,cost and tobacco usage of hospitalized AP cases in southern Romania and to update and upgrade the knowledge we have on the etiology,severity(in regard to Revised Atlanta Classification),outcome,morphology and local complications of AP.METHODS We performed an electronic health care records search on AP patients treated at Emergency University Hospital of Bucharest(Spitalul Universitar de UrgențăBucurești)between 2015 and 2022.The incidence,etiology,and severity were calculated;potential risk factors were evaluated,and the hospitalization costs of AP were documented and analyzed.The cohort of this study is part of the BUCharest-Acute Pancreatitis Index registry.RESULTS A total of 947 consecutive episodes of AP where the patients were hospitalized in the gastroenterology department were analyzed,with 79.45%as 1st episode and the rest recurrent.The majority of the patients were males(68.9%).Alcoholic(45.7%),idiopathic(16.4%)and biliary(15.2%)were the main causes.The incidence was estimated at 29.2 episodes/100000 people.The median length of stay was 7 d.The median daily cost was 747.96 RON(165 EUR).There was a high prevalence of active tobacco smokers(68.5%).The prevalence of severe disease was 11.1%.The admission rate to the intensive care unit was 4.6%,with a mortality rate of 38.6%.The overall mortality was 5.5%.CONCLUSION We estimated the incidence of AP at 29.2 episodes that required hospitalization per 100000 people.The majority of our cases were found in males(68.9%)and were related to alcohol abuse(45.7%).Out of the cases we were able to find data regarding tobacco usage,the majority were active smokers(68.5%).Most patients had a mild course(54.4%),with a mortality rate of 5.5%.Interstitial AP prevailed(45.3%).The median daily cost of hospitalization was 747.96 RON(165 EUR).