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Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility of differentiating between acute pancreatitis (AP) and healthy pancreas using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and correlate apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) /fractional anisotropy (FA) values with the severity of AP. Material and Methods: 66 patients diagnosed with AP and 20 normal controls (NC) underwent DTI sequences and routine pancreatic MR sequences on a 3.0T MRI scanner. Average ADC and FA values of the pancreatic were measured. Differences of FA and ADC values between the AP group and the NC group with AP and healthy pancreas were compared by two-sample independent t-test. The severity of AP on MRI was classified into subgroups using MR severity index (MRSI), where the mean FA and ADC values were calculated. Relationship among the FA values, ADC values and MRSI were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. Results: The pancreatic mean ADC value in the AP group (1.68 ± 0.45×10−3mm2/s) was significantly lower than in the NC group (2.09 ± 0.55×10−3mm2/s) (P = 0.02); the same as mean FA value (0.39 ± 0.23 vs 0.54 ± 0.12, P = 0.00). In the subgroup analysis, the pancreatic ADC and FA value of edema AP patients was significantly higher than necrosis AP patients with P = 0.000 and P = 0.001respectively. In addition, as severity of pancreatitis increased according to MRSI, lower pancreatic ADC (r = -0.635) and FA value (r = -0.654) were noted. Conclusion: Both FA and ADC value from DTI can be used to differentiate AP patients from NC. Both ADC and FA value of pancreas have a negative correlation with the severity of AP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Because computed tomography (CT) has advantages for visualizing the manifestation of necrosis and local complications, a series of scoring systems based on CT manifestations have been developed for assessing the clinical outcomes of acute pancreatitis (AP), including the CT severity index (CTSI), modified CTSI, etc. Despite the internationally accepted CTSI having been successfully used to predict the overall mortality and disease severity of AP, recent literature has revealed the limitations of the CTSI. Using the Delphi method, we establish a new scoring system based on retrocrural space involvement (RCSI), and compared its effectiveness at evaluating the mortality and severity of AP with that of the CTSI. Methods: We reviewed CT images of 257 patients with AP taken within 3–5 days of admission in 2012. The RCSI scoring system, which includes assessment of infectious conditions involving the retrocrural space and the adjacent pleural cavity, was established using the Delphi method. Two radiologists independently assessed the RCSI and CTSI scores. The predictive points of the RCSI and CTSI scoring systems in evaluating the mortality and severity of AP were estimated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Principal Findings: The RCSI score can accurately predict the mortality and disease severity. The area under the ROC curve for the RCSI versus CTSI score was 0.962±0.011 versus 0.900±0.021 for predicting the mortality, and 0.888±0.025 versus 0.904±0.020 for predicting the severity of AP. Applying ROC analysis to our data showed that a RCSI score of 4 was the best cutoff value, above which mortality could be identified. Conclusion: The Delphi method was innovatively adopted to establish a scoring system to predict the clinical outcome of AP. The RCSI scoring system can predict the mortality of AP better than the CTSI system, and the severity of AP equally as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]