Imaging diagnosis of pancreato-biliary diseases: A control study

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the clinical value of various imageological methods in diagnosing the pancreato-biliary diseases and to seek the optimal procedure. Methods: Eighty-two cases of pancreato-biliary diseases confirmed by surgery and pathology were analyzed. There were 38 cases of cholelithiasis, 34 cases of pancreato-biliary tumors and 10 other cases. The imageological methods included B-US, CT, ERCP, PTC, cross-sectional MRI and MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). Results: The accuracy rate of MRCP in detecting the location of pancreato-biliary obstruction was 100 %. In differentiating malignant from benign obstruction, the sensitivity of the combination of MRCP and cross-sectional MRI was 82.3 %, the specificity was 93.8 %, and the accuracy rate was 89.0 %. The accuracy rate for determining the nature of obstruction was 87.8 %, which was superior to that of B-US (P=0.0000) and CT (P=0.0330), but there was no significant difference between direct cholangiopancreatography and the combination of MRCP and conventional MRI (P=0.6666). Conclusion: In most cases, MRCP can substitute direct cholangiopancreatography for diagnosis. The combination of MRCP and cross-sectional MRI should be considered as an important means in diagnosing the pancreato-biliary diseases, pre-operative assessment and post-operative follow-ups.