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World J Gastroenterol. Oct 28, 2014; 20(40): 14760-14777
Published online Oct 28, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i40.14760
Magnetic resonance imaging of pancreatitis: An update
Sriluxayini Manikkavasakar, Mamdoh AlObaidy, Kiran K Busireddy, Miguel Ramalho, Viragi Nilmini, Madhavi Alagiyawanna, Richard C Semelka
Sriluxayini Manikkavasakar, Mamdoh AlObaidy, Kiran K Busireddy, Miguel Ramalho, Viragi Nilmini, Madhavi Alagiyawanna, Richard C Semelka, Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7510, United States
Author contributions: Manikkavasakar S, AlObaidy M, Busireddy KK, Ramalho M, Nilmini V, Alagiyawanna M, and Semelka RC contributed equally to this work, including literature review, manuscript writing, manuscript editing, figures collection, writing figures captions, and figures annotations.
Correspondence to: Richard C Semelka, MD, Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2001 Old Clinic Bldg., CB 7510, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7510, United States. richsem@med.unc.edu
Telephone: +1-919-9669676 Fax: +1-919-8437147
Received: March 1, 2014
Revised: June 2, 2014
Accepted: June 14, 2014
Published online: October 28, 2014
Abstract

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and staging of acute and chronic pancreatitis and may represent the best imaging technique in the setting of pancreatitis due to its unmatched soft tissue contrast resolution as well as non-ionizing nature and higher safety profile of intravascular contrast media, making it particularly valuable in radiosensitive populations such as pregnant patients, and patients with recurrent pancreatitis requiring multiple follow-up examinations. Additional advantages include the ability to detect early forms of chronic pancreatitis and to better differentiate adenocarcinoma from focal chronic pancreatitis. This review addresses new trends in clinical pancreatic MR imaging emphasizing its role in imaging all types of acute and chronic pancreatitis, pancreatitis complications and other important differential diagnoses that mimic pancreatitis.

Keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging, Acute pancreatitis, Chronic pancreatitis, Autoimmune pancreatitis, Chronic pancreatitis, Revised Atlanta classification, Motion-resistant imaging

Core tip: Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is widely used in the diagnosis and staging of pancreatitis, and may represent the best imaging techniques due to its unmatched soft tissue contrast resolution, non-ionizing nature, higher safety profile of intravascular contrast media. This review addresses new trends in clinical pancreatic MR imaging emphasizing its role in imaging all types of acute and chronic pancreatitis, autoimmune pancreatitis, pancreatitis complications, and other important differential diagnoses that mimic pancreatitis.