Purpose: The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate a new MR cholangiography sequence, with thick slices, single shot fast spin echo (SSFSE) in biliary obstructive diseases.
Patients and methods: This study included 60 patients (36 males and 24 females, mean age: 69 years) with cholestatic syndrome and suspected bile duct obstruction. All patients were prospectively investigated with MR cholangiography using SSFSE sequence with thick slices. The gold standard was ERCP (n = 47), per cutaneous cholangiography (n = 1), and surgical intervention (n = 12). According to this gold standard, 22 patients had obstructive gallstones, 23 had neoplastic obstruction, eight had inflammatory or postoperative stenosis and 7 had normal bile ducts.
Results: The sensitivity and specificity of MR cholangiography were 100 and 94% in the diagnosis of obstructive gallstones, and 95 and 97% in the diagnosis of neoplastic obstruction, respectively. A good agreement was observed between MR cholangiography and the gold standard, regardless of the site of obstruction (range of kappa value: 0.79-1).
Conclusion: MR cholangiography with SSFSE sequence is an effective and easy technique. Acquisition of thick slices in a very short time (< 2 sec) limits cardiorespiratory artefacts and eliminates the need for post-processing.