OBJECTIVETo investigate CT findings and incidence rate of gastric bare area involvement (GBAI), left adrenal gland involvement (LAGI) and perirenal space involvement (PSI) in acute pancreatitis, and to also explore the value of these appearances in predicting complications and mortality of patients.

METHODSCT imaging data of 575 patients with AP diagnosed by clinic from October 2009 to April 2011 were analyzed retrospectively. There were 339 male and 236 female patients, aging from 16 to 93 years with a mean of (51 ± 16) years. Involvement with or without gastric bare area, left adrenal gland, perirenal space were focused, and the relationship were analyzed between these CT findings and complications and mortality of patients.

RESULTSAmong 167 patients (29.0%) with GBAI, 132 had complications and 16 died. The sensitivity and specificity of GBAI for predicting complications were 45.4% and 87.7%, respectively, and 84.2%and 72.8% for predicting mortality. In all 107 patients (18.6%) with LAGI, 81 had complications and 18 died. The sensitivity and specificity of LAGI for predicting complications were 27.8% and 90.8%, respectively, and 94.7% and 84.0% for predicting mortality. Among 335 patients (58.3%) with PSI, 201 had complications and 19 died. The sensitivity and specificity of PSI for predicting complications were 69.1% and 52.8%, respectively, and 100% and 43.2% for predicting mortality. Of all patients, 210 (36.5%) owned two or more positive CT findings among GBAI, LAGI, and PSI. One hundred ninety-eight of these patients had complications and 19 died, that predicted the sensitivity and specificity for complications were 68.0% and 95.8%, respectively, and 100% and 65.6% for mortality. The risk of complications in the patients with GBAI or LAGI was increased than normal gastric bare area or left adrenal gland 5.9 or 3.8 times respectively, and the risk of death was improved 14.3 or 94.5 times respectively. The risk of complications in those patients with two or more positive findings increased by 48.3 times. By analyzing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the combination of GBAI, LAGI, and PSI was the best way to predict the complications of AP. The area under the ROC was 0.819.

CONCLUSIONSThe CT imaging could effectively indicate the signs of GBAI, LAGI and PSI of AP. The GBAI. LAGI and PSI were related with the severity and prognosis of AP, and these findings could be clinical indicators for evaluating prognosis of AP.