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Comparison of diagnostic imaging modalities for the evaluation of pancreatic duct injury in children: a multi-institutional analysis from the Pancreatic Trauma Study Group

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Abstract

Purpose

Determining the integrity of the pancreatic duct is important in high-grade pancreatic trauma to guide decision making for operative vs non-operative management. Computed tomography (CT) is generally an inadequate study for this purpose, and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is sometimes obtained to gain additional information regarding the duct. The purpose of this multi-institutional study was to directly compare the results from CT and MRCP for evaluating pancreatic duct disruption in children with these rare injuries.

Methods

Retrospective study of data obtained from eleven pediatric trauma centers from 2010 to 2015. Children up to age 18 with suspected blunt pancreatic duct injury who had both CT and MRCP within 1 week of injury were included. Imaging findings of both studies were directly compared and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi square, Wilcoxon rank-sum, and McNemar’s tests.

Results

Data were collected for 21 patients (mean age 7.8 years). The duct was visualized more often on MRCP than CT (48 vs 5%, p < 0.05). Duct disruption was confirmed more often on MRCP than CT (24 vs 0%), suspected based on secondary findings equally (38 vs 38%), and more often indeterminate on CT (62 vs 38%). Overall, MRCP was not superior to CT for determining duct integrity (62 vs 38%, p = 0.28).

Conclusions

In children with blunt pancreatic injury, MRCP is more useful than CT for identifying the pancreatic duct but may not be superior for confirmation of duct integrity. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiogram (ERCP) may be necessary to confirm duct disruption when considering pancreatic resection.

Level of evidence

III.

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Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Texas Children’s Hospital and the Michael E DeBakey Department of Surgery, 6701 Fannin Street # 1210, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Eric H. Rosenfeld, Adam Vogel & Bindi J. Naik-Mathuria

  2. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Denise B. Klinkner & Stephanie Polites

  3. Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Barbara Gaines & Christine Leeper

  4. Carolinas HealthCare System, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Stallion Anthony & Megan Waddell

  5. Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO, USA

    Shawn St. Peter & David Juang

  6. Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA

    Rajan Thakkar & Joseph Drews

  7. Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, Portland, OR, USA

    Brandon Behrens & Mubeen Jafri

  8. Children’s National Medical Center, Washington DC, USA

    Randall S. Burd

  9. Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Marianne Beaudin & Laurence Carmant

  10. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Richard A. Falcone Jr. & Suzanne Moody

  11. University of Alabama at Birmingham, Children’s of Alabama, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Robert T. Russell & Ilan Maizlin

Authors
  1. Eric H. Rosenfeld
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  2. Adam Vogel
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  3. Robert T. Russell
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  4. Ilan Maizlin
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  5. Denise B. Klinkner
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  6. Stephanie Polites
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  7. Barbara Gaines
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  8. Christine Leeper
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  9. Stallion Anthony
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  10. Megan Waddell
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  11. Shawn St. Peter
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  12. David Juang
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  13. Rajan Thakkar
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  14. Joseph Drews
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  15. Brandon Behrens
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  16. Mubeen Jafri
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  17. Randall S. Burd
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  18. Marianne Beaudin
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  19. Laurence Carmant
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  20. Richard A. Falcone Jr.
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  21. Suzanne Moody
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  22. Bindi J. Naik-Mathuria
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eric H. Rosenfeld.

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Rosenfeld, E.H., Vogel, A., Russell, R.T. et al. Comparison of diagnostic imaging modalities for the evaluation of pancreatic duct injury in children: a multi-institutional analysis from the Pancreatic Trauma Study Group. Pediatr Surg Int 34, 961–966 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-018-4309-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-018-4309-2

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