Prevalence of Pancreatic Steatosis at a Pediatric Tertiary Care Center. Issue 3 (March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pham, Yen H.; Bingham, Brigid A.; Bell, Cynthia S.; Greenfield, Susan A.; John, Susan D.; Robinson, Lawrence H.; Eissa, Mona A.
• Is Part Of: Southern medical journal. Volume 109:Issue 3(2016)
• Publication Date: 2016-03
• Subjects: children -- computed tomography -- obesity -- pancreatic steatosis; Medicine -- Periodicals; 610.5
• DOI: 10.14423/SMJ.0000000000000432
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0038-4348

Abstract

Abstract : Objectives: Pancreatic steatosis in adults has been proposed to be associated with obesity; however, data on pancreatic steatosis in children are lacking. Our study aimed to measure the prevalence of pancreatic steatosis in children and to examine its association with obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Methods: This is a retrospective chart review study of 232 patients 2 to 18 years old who underwent abdominal computed tomographic imaging in the emergency department or inpatient ward within a 1-year time span and from whom demographics, anthropometrics, and medical history were obtained. Our radiologist determined mean Hounsfield unit (HU) measurements for the pancreas, liver, and spleen. A difference of −20 between the pancreas and spleen (psHU) and between the liver and spleen was used to determine fatty infiltration. Results: Of the 232 patients, 11.5% had a psHU less than −20. The prevalence of pancreatic steatosis was more than double among obese children (19%) than that in nonobese groups (8%). There is a significant correlation between the psHU and liver-spleen HU ( r = 0.50, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Pancreatic steatosis was identified in 10% of the study population and is associated with obesity. Also, pancreatic steatosis is significantly associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. This is the first study assessing the prevalence of pancreatic steatosis in children. Abstract : In adults, the prevalence of pancreatic steatosis varies between 9% and 17%, and studies have shown that pancreatic steatosis is associated with obesity and may associate with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. No similar data are available in children. We sought to study the prevalence of pancreatic steatosis in children and to examine its association with obesity and hepatic steatosis by a retrospective review of abdominal computed tomographic imaging of 256 children.