Published online Aug 15, 2014. doi: 10.4291/wjgp.v5.i3.252
Revised: February 13, 2014
Accepted: May 15, 2014
Published online: August 15, 2014
Pancreatitis is defined as the inflammation of the pancreas and considered the most common pancreatic disease in children and adults. Imaging plays a significant role in the diagnosis, severity assessment, recognition of complications and guiding therapeutic interventions. In the setting of pancreatitis, wider availability and good image quality make multi-detector contrast-enhanced computed tomography (MD-CECT) the most used imaging technique. However, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers diagnostic capabilities similar to those of CT, with additional intrinsic advantages including lack of ionizing radiation and exquisite soft tissue characterization. This article reviews the proposed definitions of revised Atlanta classification for acute pancreatitis, illustrates a wide range of morphologic pancreatic parenchymal and associated peripancreatic changes for different types of acute pancreatitis. It also describes the spectrum of early and late chronic pancreatitis imaging findings and illustrates some of the less common types of chronic pancreatitis, with special emphasis on the role of CT and MRI.
Core tip: Imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and staging of acute and chronic pancreatitis. Wider availability and good image quality makes computed tomography (CT) the mostly used imaging technique; however, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers diagnostic capabilities similar to those of CT, with additional intrinsic advantages including lack of ionizing radiation and exquisite soft tissue characterization. This article reviews and illustrates the proposed definitions of the revised Atlanta classification for acute pancreatitis. It also describes the spectrum of early and late chronic pancreatitis imaging findings, with special emphasis on the role of CT and MRI.