The efficacy of the 3-dimensional vibe-caipirinha-dixon technique in the evaluation of pancreatic steatosis

Ural Koç ,Gökhan Ocakoğlu ,Oktay Alğin

doi:10.3906/sag-1909-83

Abstract

Background/aimCAIPIRINHA is a new technique in abdominal imaging. Pancreatic steatosis (PS) is a subject of increasing scientific interest. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of the isotropic 3D-VIBE- CAIPIRINHA -DIXON technique on a new generation 3-tesla MR unit in the evaluation of PS.Materials and methodsIn this retrospective study, the imaging findings of 49 patients with PS and 41 control subjects were examined. The pancreas-to-spleen ratio (PSR), pancreas-to-muscle ratio (PMR), and pancreatic signal intensity index (PSII) were defined as 3 new parameters and these indexes were calculated from the in-phase/out of phase 3D-VIBE- CAIPIRINHA-DIXON images. ResultsThe PSR, PMR, and PSII values were significantly different between the patient and control groups (P = 0.001, P = 0.009, P < 0.001, respectively). Statistically significant differences were observed between patient and control groups for ROI measurements of fatty areas on these sequences/images: subtraction (in-out) (P < 0.001), T2W HASTE (P < 0.001), DIXON-fat (P < 0.001), fat-suppressed T1W (P = 0.002), and subtraction (out-in) (P = 0.010). ConclusionEvaluation of PS with the 3D-VIBE-CAIPIRINHA-DIXON technique can be made rapidly and effectively.

Highlights

Pancreatic steatosis (PS) was first defined by Ogilvie in a cadaver study, with determination of relationships between age and metabolic comorbidities such as atherosclerosis and diabetes, and it became a subject in which interest has not diminished [1,2,3,4]
The pancreas-to-spleen ratio (PSR), pancreas-to-muscle ratio (PMR), and pancreatic signal intensity index (PSII) were defined as 3 new parameters and these indexes were calculated from the in-phase/out of phase 3D-VIBE- CAIPIRINHA-DIXON images
The PSR, PMR, and PSII values were significantly different between the patient and control groups (P = 0.001, P = 0.009, P < 0.001, respectively)

Summary

Introduction

Pancreatic steatosis (PS) was first defined by Ogilvie in a cadaver study, with determination of relationships between age and metabolic comorbidities such as atherosclerosis and diabetes, and it became a subject in which interest has not diminished [1,2,3,4]. The clinical results related to PS have been conflicting in publications regarding whether PS is related to pancreatic endocrine or/and exocrine function [8,9]. Tahtacı et al and Kromrey et al suggested that pancreatic exocrine impairment was associated with fatty pancreas via magnetic resonance imaging and fecal elastase [8,9]. Miyake et al reported that fatty pancreas was not associated with pancreatic exocrine impairment but associated with endocrine impairment via computed tomography (CT) [10]. There is no clinical and/or laboratory biomarker of PS, it can be assessed with radiological modalities.

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