Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography for the detection of pancreatic duct stones in patients with chronic pancreatitis

AIM: To assess the role of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) in detection of pancreatic duct stones (PDS) in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP). METHODS: Clinical data of 78 CP patients who were treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University (China) between January 2004 and July 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. A predictive model of pancreatic duct stones was established through logistic regression and its effectiveness was verified. Among these patients, MRCP was performed in 60 patients who served as a control group, while 44 patients with a higher predictive value than the entry threshold of the predictive model served as an experimental group. RESULTS: The positive rate of PDS in the 78 patients with CP was 19.2% (15/78). The predictive entry threshold of the predictive model was 5% (P < 0.05). The possibility of existence of PDS could be predicted according to the following 4 indexes: gastrointestinal symptoms, intermittent abdominal pain, diabetes mellitus (DM)/impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and positive B-mode ultrasound results. The incidence of PDS in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: MRCP is strongly suggested for the detection of PDS in patients with gastrointestinal symptoms, intermittent abdominal pain, DM/IGT and positive B-mode ultrasound results.