PANCREATIC STIFFNESS VALUES USING A POINT SHEAR WAVE ELASTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUE IN PATIENTS WITH HEALTHY PANCREAS.

In the current literature, there is only a small number of studies that have evaluated the utility of point share wave elastography for pancreatic assessment. Objective: To assess the feasibility of Virtual Touch Quantification (VTQ) elastography for pancreas assessment, as well as the mean pancreatic stiffness values in healthy subjects. Material and method: We included 70 subjects (52.8% women, 47.2% men, average BMI=25.9±4.9 kg/m2, average age 46.8±18.4 years) with a normal pancreatic ultrasound aspect and with no history of pancreatic disease or diabetes, in whom elastography measurements were performed with a Siemens Acuson S2000 Virtual Touch ultrasound system (Siemens AG, Erlangen, Germany) using a 4CI transducer. For each patient, 10 valid VTQ measurements of the pancreatic parenchyma were performed under fasting conditions. Reliable measurements were defined as a median value of ten pancreas stiffness measurements with a success rate ≥60% and an interquartile range interval <30%. Results: Out of 70 subjects, reliable measurements were acquired in 61 subjects (87.1%) by means of VTQ elastography. The mean pancreas stiffness values in healthy subjects was 1.26 m/s ± 0.1 m/s, CI 95% (1.24-1.28). There were no significant differences between the mean pancreas stiffness in men vs. women 1.25 m/s ± 0.09 m/s, CI 95% (1.21-1.28) vs. 1.28 m/s ± 0.1 m/s CI 95% (1.25-1.31) (p=0.103). Conclusion: VTQ can be a useful tool for pancreas quantification characterized by a good feasibility (87.1%) in healthy subjects. The mean pancreas stiffness values in healthy individuals was 1.26 m/s ± 0.1m/s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]