Quantitative And Qualitative Eus Elastography

Endoscopic ultrasonography is considered the most accurate methods for the diagnosis and staging of chronic inflammatory and neoplastic pancreatic diseases. Differential diagnosis of solid pancreatic masses, however, remains a challenge and endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration is necessary. Recently, Endoscopic ultrasound elastography has been introduced as an alternative method to evaluate tissue stiffness of solid pancreatic masses, being an index of tissue elasticity, which may be related to histopathology features (hard tissue = blue = neoplastic and soft tissue = red-yellow-green = non-neoplastic). However, recently publications show different results using elastography. Moreover, a lack of data in Endoscopic ultrasound-elastography exist regarding the compression rate of the probe and the diameter of the region of interest under analysis in previously studies that by physics could affect the tissue elasticity. Based on the hypothesis that elastography could be affected by compression rate of the probe and the diameter of the region of interest analyzed the present study aimed to evaluate the quantitative (strain ratio) and qualitative endoscopic ultrasound-elastography results determined by the compression rate of the probe (measured by the curve of compression in the second generation of elastography) and the diameter of the region of interest in normal pancreatic tissue.