Diagnostic value of homogenous delayed enhancement in contrast-enhanced computed tomography images and endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition for patients with focal autoimmune pancreatitis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We aimed to investigate (1) promising clinical findings for the recognition of focal type autoimmune pancreatitis (FAIP) and (2) the impact of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided tissue acquisition (EUS-TA) on the diagnosis of FAIP. METHODS: Twenty-three patients with FAIP were involved in this study, and 44 patients with resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) were included in the control group. RESULTS: (1) Multivariate analysis revealed that homogeneous delayed enhancement on contrast-enhanced computed tomography was a significant factor indicative of FAIP compared to PDAC (90% vs. 7%, p=0.015). (2) For 13 of 17 FAIP patients (76.5%) who underwent EUS-TA, EUS-TA aided the diagnostic confirmation of AIPs, and only one patient (5.9%) was found to have AIP after surgery. On the other hand, of the six patients who did not undergo EUS-TA, three (50.0%) underwent surgery for pancreatic lesions. CONCLUSIONS: Homogeneous delayed enhancement on contrast-enhanced computed tomography was the most useful clinical factor for discriminating FAIPs from PDACs. EUS-TA is mandatory for diagnostic confirmation of FAIP lesions and can contribute to a reduction in the rate of unnecessary surgery for patients with FAIP.