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Comparative Study
. 2018 Dec 13;18(1):52.
doi: 10.1186/s12880-018-0295-z.

Ultrasound point shear wave elastography of the pancreas: comparison of patients with type 1 diabetes and healthy volunteers - results from a pilot study

Sophie Püttmann  1 , Janina Koch  1 , Jochen Paul Steinacker  2 , Stefan Andreas Schmidt  2 , Thomas Seufferlein  1 , Wolfgang Kratzer  3 , Julian Schmidberger  1 , Burkhard Manfras  4
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Ultrasound point shear wave elastography of the pancreas: comparison of patients with type 1 diabetes and healthy volunteers - results from a pilot study

Sophie Püttmann et al. BMC Med Imaging. .

Abstract

Background: The aims of this study were to establish shear wave elastography of the pancreas by comparing measurements in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and healthy volunteers and to consider whether this method could contribute to the screening or prevention of T1D.

Methods: This pilot study included 15 patients with T1D (10 men, 5 women) and 15 healthy volunteers (10 men, 5 women) as controls. Measurements were performed with a Siemens Acuson S3000 (Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) using a 6C1 convex transducer and the Virtual Touch™ tissue quantification (VTQ) method.

Results: The mean shear wave velocity of the head of the pancreas was 1.0 ± 0.2 m/s (median: 1.1 m/s) for the study group and likewise 1.0 ± 0.2 m/s (median: 0.9 m/s) for the control group. Velocities of 1.2 ± 0.2 m/s (median: 1.2 m/s) were measured in the body of the pancreas in both groups. There was a significant difference between the values obtained in the tail of the pancreas: patients 1.1 ± 0.1 m/s (median: 1.0 m/s) versus controls 0.9 ± 0.1 m/s (median: 0.8 m/s) (p = 0.0474). The mean value in the whole pancreas of the study group was not significantly above that of the control group: 1.1 ± 0.1 m/s (median: 1.0 m/s) versus 1.0 ± 0.1 m/s (median: 1.0 m/s) (p = 0.2453).

Conclusions: Sonoelastography of the pancreas revealed no overall difference between patients with T1D and healthy volunteers. Patients with T1D showed higher values only in the tail segment. Future studies need to determine whether specific regional differences can be found in a larger study population.

Keywords: Healthy volunteers; Pancreas; Type 1 diabetes; Ultrasound p-shear wave elastography.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was conducted in conformity with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration and Good Clinical Practice and was approved by the Ulm University Ethics Committee (No. 331–15, 1 September 2015). All participants enrolled in the study gave their written informed consent.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Measurement of the shear wave velocity (Vs) of the head of the pancreas with VTQ
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Measurement of the shear wave velocity (Vs) of the body of the pancreas with VTQ
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Measurement of the shear wave velocity (Vs) of the tail of the pancreas with VTQ
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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