Assessment of acute cholangitis by MR imaging

作者:Eun Hyo Won; Kim Jung Hoon*; Hong Seong Sook; Kim Young Jae
来源:European Journal of Radiology, 2012, 81(10): 2476-2480.
DOI:10.1016/j.ejrad.2011.10.020

摘要

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the common MRI findings of acute cholangitis compared with those of non-acute cholangitis. %26lt;br%26gt;Materials and methods: During a 31-month period, we performed MRCP and contrast-enhanced MRI on 173 patients with biliary abnormalities including duct dilatation or stricture. The causes of the biliary abnormalities included biliary stone disease (n = 85), cholangiocarcinoma (n = 47), periampullary cancer (n = 20), GB cancer (n = 4), and others (n = 17). Among 173 patients, 66 consecutive patients were confirmed with acute cholangitis diagnosed according to the Tokyo guideline, and 107 patients were confirmed as having non-acute cholangitis. Two radiologists retrospectively and independently accessed the MR findings, including the cause of biliary abnormality, increased periductal signal intensity on T2-weighted images, the transient periductal signal difference, and the presence of abscess, thrombosis, and ragged duct. They also measured the dilated duct and the thickened wall. The Student t-test and the Pearson chi-square were used. The kappa statistics were used to determine interobserver agreement. Logistic regression was used to identify the MR findings that predicted acute cholangitis. %26lt;br%26gt;Results: MRI correctly accessed the cause of biliary abnormality in 163 patients (94%). The statistically common findings for acute cholangitis were as follows: increased periductal signal intensity on T2-weighted imaging (n = 26, 39%, p %26lt; 0.05); transient periductal signal difference (n = 31, 47%, p %26lt; 0.05); abscess (n = 18, 27%, p %26lt; 0.05); thrombosis (n = 12, 18%, p %26lt; 0.05); and ragged duct (n = 11, 17%, p %26lt; 0.05). Interobserver agreement was good to excellent for each finding (kappa = 0.74-0.97). The wall thickness showed a statistically significant difference between the acute cholangitis and the non-acute cholangitis group (2.65 mm: 2.32 mm, p %26lt; 0.05), however, there was no significant difference in duct dilatation in the two groups. The periductal transient attenuation difference was an independent predictor of acute cholangitis (Exp (B) = 6.389, p = 0.018). %26lt;br%26gt;Conclusion: MRI accurately assesses the cause of biliary abnormality in patients with cholangitis. Using statistically common MR findings for acute cholangitis, MR imaging is very successful in predicting acute cholangitis.

  • 出版日期2012-10