Evaluation of diffusion-weighted MR imaging in the diagnosis of mild acute pancreatitis

The goal of our study was to determine the diagnostic value of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in the identification of acute mild pancreatitis with low Ranson scores. The study group included 22 healthy subjects and 40 patients with mild acute pancreatitis. Patients with Ranson scores of 1–3 were included in the present study. There was a significant reduction in mean pancreatic apparent diffusion coefficient among the acute pancreatitis patients (1.46±2.80×10− 3mm2/s) relative to the healthy subjects (1.69±2.26×10− 3mm2/s). Diffusion-weighted imaging improves diagnosis of mild acute pancreatitis and enables the differentiation of acute pancreatitis from other diseases involving abdominal pain and other nonspecific findings.