Scholarlink

Background <p>Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is a non-invasive modality widely used to assess the biliary and pancreatic ducts. However, in emergency practice, rapid and confident interpretation may be hindered by high signal intensity from adjacent gastrointestinal fluid, which can obscure ductal anatomy and reduce diagnostic clarity. Despite the use of oral negative contrast agents to address this limitation, evidence remains scarce regarding which accessible and practical agent provides superior suppression effects in routine clinical settings. This study therefore compared gadolinium and pineapple juice as oral contrast agents using histogram analysis to identify the more effective approach for optimising MRCP image quality and enhancing diagnostic efficiency.</p> Methods <p>This prospective observational study included two groups of patients undergoing MRCP who received different oral contrast agents, Gadolinium solution and pineapple juice, administered immediately before scanning to suppress gastrointestinal signals. Image quality was assessed quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitative measurements included signal intensity (SI), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), obtained using RadiAnt DICOM Viewer software. Visual assessments were performed independently by board-certified radiologists with more than 20&#xa0;years of experience. In addition, grayscale histogram-based analysis was performed using ImageJ. Data were analysed statistically using SPSS, including tests for data normality, group differences, and inter-observer agreement, with significance defined as p &lt; 0.05.</p> Results <p>Histogram-based grayscale analysis was found to be superior to conventional SNR, SI, and CNR measurements. Both gadolinium and pineapple juice showed significant improvement in SNR, SI, and CNR values after oral administration in the extrahepatic ducts (p &lt; 0.001). However, histogram analysis revealed a significant improvement only with gadolinium (p &lt; 0.001), whereas pineapple juice showed no significant change.</p> Conclusion <p>Oral gadolinium provides more effective suppression of gastrointestinal signals compared with pineapple juice, particularly in emergency settings where immediate image optimisation is crucial. Furthermore, histogram-based grayscale analysis represents the most reliable and sensitive method for evaluating MRCP image quality.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Quantifying the impact of oral negative contrast agents in emergency magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography: a histogram-based analysis of gadolinium and pineapple juice

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月16日

查看全文
  • Mousa Alnahhal,
  • Mahmoud I. Mousa,
  • Omarah Abdelqader,
  • Marwan Matar,
  • Hamza Arjah,
  • Safaa Abu Mostafa,
  • Hammoda Abu-Odah

摘要

Background

Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is a non-invasive modality widely used to assess the biliary and pancreatic ducts. However, in emergency practice, rapid and confident interpretation may be hindered by high signal intensity from adjacent gastrointestinal fluid, which can obscure ductal anatomy and reduce diagnostic clarity. Despite the use of oral negative contrast agents to address this limitation, evidence remains scarce regarding which accessible and practical agent provides superior suppression effects in routine clinical settings. This study therefore compared gadolinium and pineapple juice as oral contrast agents using histogram analysis to identify the more effective approach for optimising MRCP image quality and enhancing diagnostic efficiency.

Methods

This prospective observational study included two groups of patients undergoing MRCP who received different oral contrast agents, Gadolinium solution and pineapple juice, administered immediately before scanning to suppress gastrointestinal signals. Image quality was assessed quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitative measurements included signal intensity (SI), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), obtained using RadiAnt DICOM Viewer software. Visual assessments were performed independently by board-certified radiologists with more than 20 years of experience. In addition, grayscale histogram-based analysis was performed using ImageJ. Data were analysed statistically using SPSS, including tests for data normality, group differences, and inter-observer agreement, with significance defined as p < 0.05.

Results

Histogram-based grayscale analysis was found to be superior to conventional SNR, SI, and CNR measurements. Both gadolinium and pineapple juice showed significant improvement in SNR, SI, and CNR values after oral administration in the extrahepatic ducts (p < 0.001). However, histogram analysis revealed a significant improvement only with gadolinium (p < 0.001), whereas pineapple juice showed no significant change.

Conclusion

Oral gadolinium provides more effective suppression of gastrointestinal signals compared with pineapple juice, particularly in emergency settings where immediate image optimisation is crucial. Furthermore, histogram-based grayscale analysis represents the most reliable and sensitive method for evaluating MRCP image quality.