The course and prognostic value of increased pancreas stiffness detected by ultrasound elastography during acute pancreatitis

• DOI: 10.1016/j.pan.2021.07.006
• Publication Date: 2021-07-27T09:48:31Z
• Authors: Orhan Sezgin; Serkan Yaraş; Osman Özdoğan
• Keywords: Ultrasound Elastography; Clinical Significance

In this study, we determined the pancreatic stiffness (PS) changes in the course of acute pancreatitis (AP) by ultrasound elastography and evaluated its relation with prognosis.Pancreatic shear wave velocity measurements (SWM) were evaluated at the time of admission to the hospital, following clinical improvement, and one-month after for AP patients and compared to healthy volunteers. Its relationship with clinical severity indexes was evaluated.The pancreatic SWM value in the healthy group was 7.72 ± 2.50 kPa, and in AP group was 10.97 ± 2.26 kPa (p = 0.000). There was no difference between mild and severe pancreatitis. The mean SWM was 8.96 ± 1.53 kPa after disease remission, and 8.83 ± 1.24 kPa after 1-month.PS increases significantly during AP and decreases with clinical improvement, but this was still higher than controls, and it kept its elevation after 1-month. We think that larger, long-term studies are needed to determine the clinicopathological significance of this.