What is a hyperechoic pancreas?

On US, fatty pancreas is defined as a hyperechoic pancreas (HP) with higher echogenicity than that of the liver or renal cortex [6,14,15]. However, the normal echogenicity of the pancreas is known to be equal to or slightly greater than that of the liver [16].

Is pancreas hyperechoic to liver?

The pancreatic parenchyma is similar in echogenicity to normal liver in younger patients, and described as hypoechoic. With age the pancreas becomes more hyperechoic due to increasing parenchyma fat. Scanning from the left upper quadrant through the spleen can often give good images of the pancreatic tail.

What causes hyperechoic pancreas?

A very high echogenicity of the pancreas could be a sign of chronic pancreatitis, which is often accompanied by dilatation of the pancreatic duct. A previous study showed that body weight and fatty infiltration have a significant influence on pancreatic echogenicity[19].

Is the liver hypoechoic to the pancreas?

The normal pancreas is homogeneous and isoechoic or hyperechoic to the normal liver. In older patients, the pancreas may appear isoechoic to the retroperitoneal fat because of fatty replacement. In severe acute pancreatitis, the pancreas becomes enlarged, heterogeneous, and hypoechoic.

What appears hyperechoic on ultrasound?

‌Hyperechoic. This term means “lots of echoes.” These areas bounce back many sound waves. They appear as light gray on the ultrasound. Hyperechoic masses are not as dense as hypoechoic ones are. They may contain air, fat, or fluid.

Is fatty pancreas common?

Fatty pancreas is a common finding during medical check-up with a prevalence of 35 %. Fatty pancreas has significant association with metabolic factors and it might have an important role in risk of malignancy.

What is hypoechoic?

Certain words are used to describe areas imaged with ultrasound. Masses can be hypoechoic, hyperechoic, anechoic, or mixed.‌ Hypoechoic. This term means “not many echoes.” These areas appear dark gray because they don’t send back a lot of sound waves. Solid masses of dense tissue are hypoechoic.

What does hyperechoic indicate?

What is the treatment of fatty pancreas?

The use of statin is a reasonable treatment for fatty pancreas, since statin is shown to reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer. But currently, statin is recognized to have a risk of inducing diabetes.

Is fatty pancreas serious?

Fatty infiltration in the pancreas or fatty replacement in pancreas cells are considered benign conditions.