The accuracy of 3T magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography in suspected choledocholithiasis

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate interobserver agreement during magnetic resonance cholangio­pancreatography (MRCP) evaluation and the sensitivity and specificity of MRCP obtained with 3T scanners in cases of bile duct obstruction.

Material and methods
A total of 37 patients who had MRCP and endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERCP) were included. Choledochal pathology was divided into two groups regarding the presence of stones as “there is stone or not”. MRCPs were performed with a 3-Tesla system using respiratory triggered HASTE technique in axial and coronal planes and with T2 SPACE sequence in the coronal plane. Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), and positive predictive value (PPV) were calculated separately for each observer. The average of both observers was calculated for comparison with other studies.

Results
Thirty-seven patients were in the study population. Agreement between the observers was analysed, and Cohen’s κ value was evaluated as 0.84. For two observers, the sensitivity of MRCP was 93%, whereas the specificity was 75% for the first observer and 62% for the second.

Conclusions
In this study we found a high level of interobserver agreement in evaluating MRCP. MRCP has a high sensitivity in detecting choledocholithiasis.