OBJECTIVE. The purposes of this study were to define the pancreatic enhancement of autoimmune pancreatitis at dual-phase CT and to compare it with that of pancreatic carcino¬ma and a normal pancreas.
MATERIALS AND METHODS. Dual-phase CT scans of 101 patients (43 with auto¬immune pancreatitis, 13 cases of which were focal; 33 with pancreatic carcinoma, and 25 with a normal pancreas) were evaluated. One radiologist measured the CT attenuation of the pancreatic parenchyma and pancreatic masses in both the pancreatic and hepatic phases of imaging. The mean CT attenuation value of the pancreatic parenchyma in patients with auto¬immune pancreatitis was compared with that in patients with a normal pancreas. The mean CT attenuation value of the focal masses in the focal form of autoimmune pancreatitis was compared with that of carcinomas.
RESULTS. In the pancreatic phase, the mean CT attenuation value of the pancreatic pa¬renchyma in patients with autoimmune pancreatitis was significantly lower than that in pa¬tients with a normal pancreas (autoimmune pancreatitis, 85 HU; normal pancreas, 104 HU; p
CONCLUSION. At dual-phase CT, the enhancement patterns of the pancreas and pan¬creatic masses in patients with autoimmune pancreatitis are different from those of pancreatic carcinoma and normal pancreas.
