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Background: Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI) is associated with the outcome of pancreatic disease. However, there is no method for assessing PEI that can be used noninvasively and easily for outpatient. It has been reported that changes in intestinal bacteria caused by PEI may increase breath hydrogen concentration (BHC) levels during glucose or lactose loading. We have evaluated the usefulness of fasting breath hydrogen concentration (FBHC) measurement without glucose loading for the evaluation of PEI., Methods: Sixty patients underwent FBHC measurement, BT-PABA testing, and microbiome analysis. They were classified into PEI group (PABA excretion rate < 73.4%, n = 30) and non-PEI group (n = 30). The FBHC of the two groups were compared, and the diagnostic ability of PEI by them was evaluated. The 16 s rRNA (V3-V4) from fecal samples was analyzed by MiSeq., Results: FBHC levels was higher in the PEI group 15.70 (1.4 to 77.0) ppm than in the non-PEI group 2.80 (0.7 to 28.2) ppm (P < 0.0001). FBHC was negatively correlated with PABA excretion rate (r =  - 0.523, P < 0.001). The cutoff value of FBHC of 10.7 ppm (95% CI: 0.678-0.913, P < 0.001) showed a sensitivity of 73.3% and specificity of 83.3% for PEI diagnosis. In the PEI group, there was a significant increase of relative abundance of phylum Firmicutes (P < 0.05) and the genus Clostridium (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: FBHC shows good potential as a simple and repeatable test for the diagnosis of PEI. The elevated FBHC levels may be caused by hydrogen-producing bacteria such as Clostridium.

Background: /Objectives: Endoscopic ultrasound elastography (EUS-EG) is useful for diagnosis of small solid pancreatic lesions (SPLs), particularly in excluding pancreatic cancer (PC), but its dependence on main pancreatic duct dilatation (MPDD) has not been examined. We aimed to investigate EUS-EG for diagnosis of small SPLs with and without MPDD., Methods: Patients with pathologically diagnosed SPLs of ≤20 mm were included and retrospectively analyzed. Using the blue:green ratio, an EUS-EG image was classified as blue-dominant, equivalent, or green-dominant. Using multiple EUS-EG images per patient, a lesion with a greater number of blue-dominant than green-dominant images was classified as stiff, and the others as soft. EUS-EG images in random order were judged by three raters. Considering stiff SPLs as PC, diagnostic performance of EUS-EG was examined for SPLs with and without MPDD., Results: Of 126 cases analyzed, 65 (52%) were diagnosed as PC, and 63 (50%) had MPDD. A total of 1077 EUS-EG images were examined (kappa coefficient = 0.783). Lesions were classified as stiff in 91 cases and soft in 35 (kappa coefficient = 0.932). The ratio of stiff to soft lesions was significantly higher in PC than in non-PC (62:3 vs. 29:32, P < 0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value of a stiff lesion with vs. without MPDD for diagnosis of PC were 94%, 23%, and 50% vs. 100%, 60%, and 100%, respectively., Conclusions: Using the EUS-EG stiffness classification for small SPLs, PC can be excluded with high confidence and concordance for a soft lesion without MPDD., (Copyright © 2020 IAP and EPC. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Shear wave elastography (SWE) using transabdominal ultrasonography (US) is widely used for diagnosis of tissue stiffness. Ultrasound shear wave dispersion (SWD) enables evaluation of tissue viscosity using SWE. The objective of this study was to investigate the reliability and clinical significance of SWD in pancreatic screening., Methods: SWE and SWD were measured in 76 patients examined by US in pancreatic screenings performed between November 2017 and November 2018. The median pancreatic elastic modulus (PEM) and dispersion slope were obtained from at least five measurements. The reproducibility of these values and their correlations with patient characteristics, pancreatic echogenicity, and the pancreas-to-spleen attenuation ratio (P/S) on plain CT, which is associated with fatty change in pancreatic parenchyma, were investigated retrospectively., Results: The median PEM and dispersion slope were 7.4 kPa and 15.7 (m/sec)/kHz, respectively, and both values had high intraclass correlation coefficients, showing high reproducibility (ρ = 0.869 and ρ = 0.867, respectively). The interquartile range/median value of PEM and dispersion slope were 0.36 and 0.28, respectively. PEM had a positive correlation with age (r s  = 0.348, p = 0.002), and dispersion slope was positively correlated with age (r s  = 0.278, p = 0.016) and BMI (r s  = 0.397, p < 0.001). The hyperechoic pancreas had significantly higher PEM (6.6 vs. 7.8 kPa, p = 0.037) and dispersion slope (13.2 vs. 16.3 (m/sec)/kHz, p < 0.001). On plain CT performed in 50 patients, the P/S was not correlated with PEM (r s  = - 0.180, p = 0.221), but was inversely correlated with dispersion slope (r s  = - 0.338, p = 0.019)., Conclusion: Measurement of SWD in pancreatic screening was highly reproducible and may permit objective evaluation of fatty change of the pancreas.

Background and Aims: Several studies have shown the benefits of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) using a Franseen needle for histological assessment. However, studies focusing on pancreatic diseases are limited and the safety of this method has not been well assessed. We aimed to assess the current status and issues of EUS-FNB in the diagnosis of pancreatic diseases., Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 87 consecutive EUS-FNB specimens using either a 22-gauge Franseen needle (Group A, N = 51) or a conventional 22-gauge fine-needle aspiration needle (Group B, N = 36) for pancreatic diseases, and the diagnostic accuracy and safety were compared. Final diagnoses were obtained based on surgical pathology or a minimum six-month clinical follow-up., Results: Although the diagnostic accuracy for malignancy was 96.1% in Group A versus 88.9% in Group B, with no statistically significant difference ( P = 0.19), the median sample area was significantly larger in Group A (4.07 versus 1.31mm 2 , P < 0.0001). There were no differences between the two needles in the locations from which the specimens were obtained. Adverse events occurred in one case (2%) in Group A (mild pancreatitis) and none in Group B with no statistical significance ( P = 0.586). Although there was no case of bleeding defined as adverse events, 2 cases in Group A showed active bleeding during the procedure with increase in the echo-free space, which required CT scanning to rule out extravasation. Eventually, the bleeding stopped spontaneously., Conclusions: Given its guaranteed ability to obtain core specimens and comparable safety, and although the risk of bleeding should be kept in mind, EUS-FNB using a Franseen needle is likely to become a standard procedure for obtaining pancreatic tissue in the near future.

Background: Pancreatic fistula (PF) is a major complication following pancreatoduodenectomy (PD). Pancreatic texture is a risk factor for PF, but its evaluation depends on the subjective judgment. The aim of this study was to investigate whether preoperative endoscopic ultrasonography-elastography (EUS-EG), which objectively assesses tissue elasticity, predict the development of PF following PD., Methods: Fifty-nine patients who underwent EUS-EG before PD and had pancreas parenchyma histologically evaluated were included. Using histogram analysis, mean elasticity (ME), which represents tissue elasticity and is inversely correlated with pancreatic fibrosis, was calculated., Results: Among 59 patients, 19 developed PF (32.2%). The ME in patients with PF was significantly higher than that in patients without PF (85.4 vs. 55.6, P < 0.001). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the accuracy of pancreatic texture and ME for predicting PF were 0.718 and 0.846, respectively. When a ME of 70.0 was used as a cut-off value for predicting PF, the sensitivity and specificity were 84.2% and 80.0%, respectively. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, only a ME of >70.0 was an independent predictor of PF (odds ratio 10.02, P = 0.008)., Conclusions: Endoscopic ultrasonography-elastography may be an accurate and objective method for predicting PF following PD., (© 2017 Japanese Society of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery.)

Pancreatic changes in aging have been described for many decades. They involve not only pancreatic parenchyma but also pancreatic ductal, microscopic, and exocrine functional changes. There have been many studies of these changes based on pathology and various imaging modalities, as well as functional studies. The pancreatic volume was found to decrease with advancing age, with a higher incidence of pancreatic steatosis, as demonstrated in autopsy and imaging studies. The pancreatic ductal structure has been described with wide ranges of normal variation, but many studies have shown a tendency toward enlargement with advancing age. By endoscopic ultrasound imaging, the aging pancreas may exhibit abnormal findings similar to chronic pancreatitis. Microscopically, there has been evidence of patchy lobular fibrosis and papillary hyperplasia and demonstrable k-ras mutation in both normal and dysplastic ductal mucosa. The evidence of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency has yielded conflicting results, but most studies have shown a tendency toward decreased pancreatic exocrine function in the elderly. Differentiating pancreatic change in the elderly from early chronic pancreatitis may be difficult as there are limited studies to compare these two conditions in terms of structural and functional changes.

Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) has high spatial and contrast resolution, and is thought to be one of the most reliable and efficient diagnostic modalities for pancreatobiliary diseases. Recent progress in EUS, especially in the development of the electronic scanning method, has enabled the application of several utilities and software of a high-end transabdominal ultrasound apparatus as an image-enhanced EUS. Tissue harmonic imaging (THI) is a novel US acquisition method that provides better US images by using second harmonic signals. The potential advantages of THI are improved lateral resolution, reduced side lobe artifact and an increased signal-to-noise ratio. EUS-elastography is another novel technique that provides information about the distributed pattern of tissue hardness. Clinical benefits of EUS-elastography for the differential diagnosis of pancreatic tumors and the evaluation of pancreatic fibrosis have been reported. It is necessary to develop a unified and objective method of imaging and analysis to increase the use of EUS-elastography in the future., (© 2015 The Authors. Digestive Endoscopy © 2015 Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.)

Background and Aim: Transabdominal ultrasonography (US) is commonly used for the initial screening of bilio-pancreatic diseases in Asian countries due to its widespread availability, the non-invasiveness and the cost-effectiveness. However, it is considered that US has limits to observe the area, namely the blind area. The observation of the pancreatic tail is particularly difficult. The goal of this study was to examine the pancreatic tail region that cannot be visualized on transverse scanning of the upper abdomen using US with spatial positional information and factors related to visualization, and observation of the tail from the splenic hilum., Methods: Thirty-nine patients with pancreatic/biliary tract disease underwent CT and US with GPS-like technology and fusion imaging for measurement of the real pancreatic length and the predicted/real unobservable (PU and RU) length of the pancreatic tail. RU from US on transverse scanning and the real pancreatic length were used to determine the unobservable area (UA: RU/the real pancreatic length). Relationships of RU with physical and hematological variables that might influence visualization of the pancreatic tail were investigated., Results: The real pancreatic length was 160.9 ± 16.4mm, RU was 41.0 ± 17.8mm, and UA was 25.3 ± 10.4%. RU was correlated with BMI (R=0.446, P=0.004) and waist circumferences (R=0.354, P=0.027), and strongly correlated with PU (R=0.788, P<0.001). The pancreatic tail was visible from the splenic hilum in 22 (56%) subjects and was completely identified in 13 (33%) subjects., Conclusions: Combined GPS-like technology with fusion imaging was useful for the objective estimation of the pancreatic blind area., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the usefulness of contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) with time-intensity curve (TIC) in differentiating pancreatic diseases., Methods: Patients who underwent contrast-enhanced EUS between January 2007 and June 2009 were analyzed retrospectively, including 48 with pancreatic ductal cancer (PC), 14 with autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP), 13 with mass-forming pancreatitis (MFP), and 16 with pancreatic endocrine tumor (PET). After intravenous injection of contrast agent, contrast imaging pattern, TIC-based quantitative evaluation, and diagnostic ability of EUS in combination with TIC to diagnose benignancy or malignancy were assessed., Results: Hypovascular and heterogeneous pattern (42/48) in PC, isovascular and homogenous (21/27) in AIP and MFP, and hypervascular and rapid stained (16/16) in PET were observed. The echo intensity reduction rate from the peak at 1 minute was the greatest in PC followed by MFP, AIP, and PET (P < 0.05). The diagnostic accuracies based on contrast imaging pattern (84.0%) and TIC (88.0%) were higher than those based on B-mode imaging (82.6%) and dynamic computed tomography (81.3%). In EUS in combination with TIC, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy rose up to 95.8%, 92.6%, and 94.7%, respectively., Conclusions: Contrast-enhanced EUS with the dynamic quantitative analysis preparing TIC increased the diagnostic accuracy for pancreatic diseases.

Contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasonography (CE-EUS) and EUS-elastography are cutting-edge diagnostic modalities for pancreatic disorders. Each pancreatic disorder has characteristic hemodynamics. CE-EUS uses color Doppler flow imaging to classify pancreatic lesions into a spectrum of solid and cystic patterns. Although there is overlap in the patterns generated by specific types of tumors, some types of tumors tend to produce distinct flow images. EUS-elastography can assess tissue hardness by measuring its elasticity. This parameter appears to correlate with the malignant potential of the lesions. Tissue elasticity studies can provide information on both its pattern and distribution. The former is the conventional method of morphologic diagnosis, but it is restricted to observations made in a region of interest. The latter is an unbiased analysis that can be performed by image analysis software and is theoretically constant, regardless of regions of interest. The evolving modalities of CE-EUS and EUS-elastography might provide clinical utility in the diagnosis of pancreatic disorders.