Are pancreatic calcifications specific for the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis? A multidetector-row CT analysis.

AIM: To retrospectively establish the most frequently encountered diagnoses in patients with pancreatic calcifications and to investigate whether the association of certain findings could be helpful for diagnosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and three patients were included in the study. The location and distribution of calcifications; presence, nature, and enhancement pattern of pancreatic lesions; pancreatic atrophy and ductal dilatation were recorded. Differences between patients with chronic pancreatitis and patients with other entities were compared by using Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Patients had chronic pancreatitis (n=70), neuroendocrine tumours (n=14), intraductal papilla…