Purpose: The presence of pancreatic cyst(s) and the main pancreatic duct dilatation are recognized to be high-risk signs of pancreas cancer. The purpose of this study is to compare ultrasonography and low-dose, non-contrast, enhanced X-ray CT in terms of the detectability of these findings. Subjects and Methods: Subjects were 544 people (346 men and 198 women, age range: 29-88 y.o., mean age: 64.1+10.2 y.o.) who underwent a health checkup during the 21-month period from April 2009 to the end of December 2010. For ultrasonography (US), the fluid-filled stomach method was additionally performed after ordinal abdominal scanning. And for CT, low-dose plain X-ray CT was employed, considering the aim was a health checkup. For 109 people in whom pancreatic cyst (≥5 mm in diameter) and/or pancreatic duct dilatation (≥2.5 mm at the body) were detected with US or CT, magnetic resonance pancreatography or multidetector contrast-enhanced CT was additionally performed within one month to evaluate the findings. Results and Discussion: The sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy for the detection of pancreatic cyst were 96%, 94%, and 95%, respectively, with ultrasonography, and 33%, 94%, and 63%, respectively, with CT. The sensitivity was statistically significantly higher (P⟨0.0001) with ultrasonography than with low-dose plain CT, and the specificity was same. Regardless of the size or location, the detectability with low-dose plain CT did not exceed that with US. The main pancreatic duct was visualized in all 544 cases with US, but in only four cases (0.7%) with low-dose plain CT. The main pancreatic duct dilatation was confirmed with MRP or contrast-enhanced MDCT in all 67 cases in which it was detected by US. Conclusion: Ultrasonography showed significantly higher accuracy as compared with low-dose plain X-ray CT in the detection of pancreatic cysts and the main pancreatic duct dilatation. For the screening of these high-risk signs of pancreas cancer, the role of ultrasonography is considered to be important.

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Background: Color kinesis (CK), a technique based on acoustic quantification, has been developed to facilitate the evaluation of regional wall motion and left ventricular (LV) function. Recently it has been reported that plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) level is associated with LV diastolic dysfunction. The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of CK in evaluating LV diastolic function in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Subjects and Methods: Forty-six patients (mean age: 64±12 years) with AF were referred for echocardiography to evaluate cardiac function with simultaneous measurements of the plasma BNP. Echocardiography was performed for assessment of LV function, including LV ejection fraction (EF), early mitral peak flow (E), deceleration time of E (DT), early diastolic mitral annular velocity (e´), and diastolic CK. Diastolic CK images, obtained from the LV mid-papillary short-axis view, were analyzed by using ICK software. The CK-diastolic index (CK-DI) was defined as the calculated LV segmental filling fraction during the first 30% of diastole, expressed as a percentage. The mean CK-DI was determined from the average CK-DI of six segments (anterior, anteroseptal, septal, inferior, posterior, lateral wall). Results: Six cases were excluded from the analysis because of poor CK images. We found significant correlations between mean CK-DI and log BNP (r=-0.55, p⟨0.001), whereas log BNP correlated weakly with E/e´ (r=0.44), EF (r=-0.21), and DT (r=-0.15). Conclusion: The analysis of diastolic CK may be useful for quantitative assessment of LV diastolic function in patients with AF.

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Meconium peritonitis is a well-known fetal disease, and prenatal diagnosis is achieved in most cases. However, little information has been available regarding the early stages of this disease. We present herein a case of meconium peritonitis observed from the early stages of disease by ultrasonography. A cystic lesion with a small hyperechoic signal was detected in the fetal abdomen in gestational week 28, showing no changes over the following 2 weeks. However, the cystic lesion disappeared with an abrupt increase in ascites at 32 weeks. Enlargement of the fetal intestine subsequently occurred at 35 weeks with a decrease in ascites, and a large cyst appeared at 36 weeks. A female infant weighing 3081 g was delivered at 39 weeks.

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