Brief Article
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World J Gastroenterol. Sep 14, 2010; 16(34): 4329-4334
Published online Sep 14, 2010. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i34.4329
Associated factors for a hyperechogenic pancreas on endoscopic ultrasound
Cheol Woong Choi, Gwang Ha Kim, Dae Hwan Kang, Hyung Wook Kim, Dong Uk Kim, Jeong Heo, Geun Am Song, Do Youn Park, Suk Kim
Cheol Woong Choi, Gwang Ha Kim, Dae Hwan Kang, Hyung Wook Kim, Dong Uk Kim, Jeong Heo, Geun Am Song, Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine and the Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan 602-739, South Korea
Do Youn Park, Department of Pathology, Pusan National University School of Medicine and the Medical Research Institute, Busan 602-739, South Korea
Suk Kim, Department of Radiology, Pusan National University School of Medicine and the Medical Research Institute, Busan 602-739, South Korea
Author contributions: Choi CW and Kim GH contributed to conception and design, analysis and interpretation of the data; Kang DH, Kim HW and Kim DU collected data; Heo J, Song GA, Park DY and Kim S revised the article, all authors approved the final version of the paper.
Supported by A Grant of the Korea Healthcare technology R&D Project, Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Korea, (A091047)
Correspondence to: Gwang Ha Kim, MD, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine and the Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, 1-10 Ami-dong, Seo-Gu, Busan 602-739, South Korea. doc0224@chol.com
Telephone: +82-51-2407869 Fax: +82-51-2448180
Received: March 1, 2010
Revised: May 4, 2010
Accepted: May 11, 2010
Published online: September 14, 2010
Abstract

AIM: To identify the associated risk factors for hyperechogenic pancreas (HP) which may be observed on endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and to assess the relationship between HP and obesity.

METHODS: From January 2007 to December 2007, we prospectively enrolled 524 consecutive adults who were scheduled to undergo EUS. Patients with a history of pancreatic disease or with hepatobiliary or advanced gastrointestinal cancer were excluded. Finally, 284 patients were included in the analyses. We further analyzed the risk of HP according to the categories of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue in 132 patients who underwent abdominal computed tomography scans.

RESULTS: On univariate analysis, age older than 60 years, obesity (body mass index > 25 kg/m2), fatty liver, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were identified as risk factors associated with HP (P < 0.05). On multivariate analysis, fatty liver [P = 0.008, odds ratio (OR) = 2.219], male gender (P = 0.013, OR = 2.636), age older than 60 years (P = 0.001, OR = 2.874) and hypertension (P = 0.044, OR = 2.037) were significantly associated with HP. In the subgroup analysis, VAT was a statistically significant risk factor for HP (P = 0.010, OR = 5.665, lowest quartile vs highest quartile).

CONCLUSION: HP observed on EUS was associated with fatty liver, male gender, age older than 60 years, hypertension and VAT.

Keywords: Endoscopic Ultrasound; Hyperechogenic pancreas; Obesity