Computed tomography in the diagnosis of pancreatic diseases

Studies were performed to assess the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of computed tomography (CT) in pancreatic diseases. Seventy-six patients with various pancreatic diseases were studied (7 acute pancreatitis, 59 chronic pancreatitis, and 10 cancer of the pancreas). Thirty-two normal volunteers were studied for comparative purposes. CT showed excellent sensitivity (100% for acute pancreatitis, 89.8% for chronic pancreatitis, 90% for cancer of the pancreas), whereas the specificity was less reliable (57.1% for acute pancreatitis, 59.3% for chronic pancreatitis, 60% for cancer of the pancreas). The false-positive rate in controls was 28.1%. These results confirm that CT is a valuable, useful and relatively specific technique in the diagnosis of pancreatic diseases. The information provided, however, should be integrated with other methods and clinical findings.