EVALUATION OF PANCREATIC SCANNING

. Pancreatic scanning is evaluated. The scanning diagnosis was correct in 96% of patients whose scans were interpreted as normal. When a scan was regarded as pathological, in only 47% could a pancreatic disease be verified. The reason for obtaining wrong positive scans is not well understood. The present study would indicate that diseases of the liver and gastrointestinal tract will often cause a diffuse decrease in the incorporation of 75Se-selenomethionine into the pancreas. In patients with malignant disease or diabetes there were also many wrong scanning diagnoses. Pancreatic scanning is therefore of limited value in the diagnosis of diffuse pancreatic disease. It can readily be used for detecting pancreatic tumors of over 2 cm size. Its major value is, however, in excluding pancreatic disease with a high degree of confidence when a normal scan is obtained.