Use of pineapple juice with gadopentetate dimeglumine as a negative oral contrast for magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography: a multicentric study

Abstract

We evaluated the efficacy of pineapple juice with gadopentetate dimeglumine as a negative oral contrast agent for magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). Images were obtained before and after the intake of a negative oral contrast agent. Images obtained from six different areas of the biliary tree were analyzed by three different radiologists, who were blind to the exams; scores regarding image quality were given to each area. The statistical analysis showed a significant difference between images before and after the use of the contrast agent (P < 0.001) for the three radiologists (R1-R3). Mean scores given by radiologists before the intake of the contrast agent were 2.49 ± 0.42 (R1), 2.62 ± 0.32 (R2), and 2.22 ± 0.46 (R3). After the intake, mean scores were 3.38 ± 0.62 (R1), 3.48 ± 0.55 (R2), and 2.89 ± 0.69 (R3). The ducts that showed the highest scores were the common bile duct and duct of Wirsung, the distal portion of the common bile duct and the cystic duct. We suggest herein that the contrast agent pineapple juice with gadopentate dimeglumine constitutes an efficient negative oral contrast agent for MRCP, for it efficiently eliminates the signal of the digestive tube in MRCP images.