Sonographic Determination of the Pancreatic Duct Diameter among Healthy Individuals in Gaborone, Southeast District, Botswana

Abstract

The pancreatic duct is an intrapancreatic restricted tube that connects the pancreas to the common bile duct. The pancreatic duct transports pancreatic juice to the common bile duct for digesting. Pancreatic duct diameter is an important index in assessing pancreatic duct pathology as well as the pancreas. Duct obstruction may lead to dilatation due to cancer of the pancreas, pancreatitis, cholelithiasis or duodenal pathology. Recent studies have established a direct relationship between dilatation of the pancreatic duct and cancer of the pancreas. The objective of this study is to determine the pancreatic duct diameter in apparently healthy individuals in Gaborone and its relationship with anthropometric variables. Sonographic determination of the pancreatic duct diameter is very important for providing an objective evaluation of the pancreas and the nature and extent of disease if pathologic. Establishment of a baseline reference value for the pancreatic duct diameter is therefore important for providing a normogram in healthy individuals in Gaborone, Botswana. A total of 384 randomly selected individuals and 330 pancreatic duct diameter measurements were used for the study between July 2020 and May 2021. Optimum sonographic scanning technique described by Taylor et al was utilized in measuring the pancreatic duct diameter in this study. The mean pancreatic duct diameter was: 2.40±0.58mm for the head, 2.10±0.50mm for the body and 1.84±0.54mm for the tail. The mean pancreatic duct diameter for the present study was 2.11±0.50mm. The pancreatic duct diameter increased with age from 45years, indicating statistically significant relationship (P-value=0.0492). There was no significant statistical difference in the overall mean pancreatic duct diameter between male and female (p > 0.05). The present study has established that the pancreatic duct diameter for adults in Gaborone is 2.11±0.50mm and could be used in clinical setting as baseline reference value. The normogram also will be a valuable tool in age related pancreatic duct pathologies.