Acute Pancreatitis：A Quantitative Analysis of Iodine with Dual-energy Spectral Computed Tomography / 中国医学影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

PurposeTo investigate the correlation between iodine concentration and clinical severity of acute pancreatitis (AP) through the quantitative evaluation with dual-energy spectral computed tomography (DESCT), so as to find out an effective imaging technology in the evaluation of clinical severity of AP.Materials and Methods Sixty patients with AP confirmed clinically (AP group) and 30 patients with normal pancreas (control group) were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients underwent enhanced CT scan in the spectral imaging mode. Iodine concentration and normalized iodine concentration (NIC) were respectively measured during arterial phase and portal phase in the material-decomposition images by using a spectral imaging viewer (GSI Viewer). Results Iodine concentration and NIC were significantly higher in the control group than in the AP group (P<0.05,P<0.001). In the AP group, according to Ranson grading, 24 patients were in the mild grade, 20 patients were moderate, and 16 patients were severe. Iodine concentration and NIC decreased along with the increase of their Ranson grade. There were significant difference in iodine concentration and NIC among the three subgroups (iodine concentration on arterial phase:F=8.776,P<0.01; iodine concentration on portal phase:F=4.019,P<0.05; NIC on arterial phase:F=12.700,P<0.001; NIC on portal phase:F=8.732,P<0.01). Iodine concentration and NIC on arterial and portal phases in the mild grade group were both significantly higher than those in the moderate grade group (P<0.05); however, iodine concentration on arterial and portal phases, and NIC on arterial phase in the severe grade group were significantly lower than those in the moderate grade group (P<0.05).Conclusion DESCT can analyze hemodynamic changes in AP quantitatively, which is of great value in evaluating changes in AP of each grade.