Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsReasons OrderedTest LimitationsNormal vs. Abnormal FindingsWhat to ExpectFurther Testing
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Reasons Ordered
Test Limitations
Normal vs. Abnormal Findings
What to Expect
Further Testing
A pancreatic ultrasound (or sonogram) uses sound waves to produce images of the pancreas. You might need this test if you have symptoms or risk factors for pancreatic disease. There are a few different types of diagnostic pancreatic ultrasound techniques. Sometimes, pancreatic ultrasound is used during interventional treatment for pancreatic disorders.
Андрей Клеменков / Getty Images
Reasons Providers Order Pancreatic Ultrasounds
Pancreaticultrasoundcan be used for assessing inflammation, abnormal growths, or duct blockage affecting thepancreas.
Your healthcare providers might order a pancreatic ultrasound for you if there’s concern that you could be having:
Some symptoms that might indicate a need for pancreatic ultrasound include:
Usually, pancreatic disease would cause a combination of these symptoms rather than just one.Your healthcare providers would consider your symptoms, medical history, and risk factors and perform a physical examination before deciding which imaging tests or other diagnostic tests to order for you.
If you’re having a pancreatic ultrasound, you would likely also have other diagnostic tests, which may include:
Other imaging tests you might also need as part of your evaluation include pancreatic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), liver imaging, or acolonoscopybecause pancreatic disease is often associated with liver or colon disease.
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Types of Pancreatic Ultrasound
You might have a noninvasive pancreatic ultrasound or an invasive test, such as:
A pancreatic ultrasound can help visualize signs of inflammation or tumors in the pancreas and may detect obstruction of the pancreatic ducts.
However, the pancreas is an irregularly shaped organ, and its location is challenging to access. Because of these structural and anatomical features, sometimes pancreatic abnormalities cannot be seen with a pancreatic ultrasound.
A pancreatic ultrasound can be used to observe certain changes in the pancreas that could indicate inflammation, infection, blockage, cysts, or cancer. However, while this test can often identify problems, it cannot completely rule out pancreatic disease because it can be difficult to fully visualize the pancreas—even with a good-quality ultrasound and a thorough assessment of the images.
Some abnormal changes that could be noted on a pancreatic ultrasound include:
If you’re having a pancreatic ultrasound, your treating physician and a radiologist would need to carefully examine your test images as they consider your diagnosis.Usually, the test itself does not provide a clear answer. Therefore, your medical team would look at the images with consideration of your entire medical condition to be able to interpret any abnormalities.
How Ultrasound Prep and Process Works
You may be instructed to prepare in advance before your pancreatic ultrasound. Preparation could include restriction of eating and drinking for a certain amount of time. You might be instructed to drink a special fluid in preparation for your test.
Day Before the Procedure
The specific instructions that you would receive before your pancreatic ultrasound will depend on whether you are having an abdominal pancreatic ultrasound or an endoscopic pancreatic ultrasound.
Usually, for an abdominal pancreatic ultrasound, you would be able to continue your usual diet. For an endoscopic pancreatic ultrasound, you would need to fast from food and drinking for about 12 hours before your procedure.
Fasting before an endoscopic test serves the following purposes:
Day of the Procedure
On the day of your ultrasound, head to the facility where you will receive the test. If you are to have an invasive procedure, you would need someone to drive you to and from the test. If you’re having a noninvasive procedure (such as an abdominal ultrasound), you may be able to drive yourself there and home.
When you go in for your procedure, you will register or sign in, provide your insurance information, and verify your identity (to ensure that you are having the correct test that was ordered for you).
You will be guided to a patient changing area, where you will be given a gown to change into. You would be instructed to place your clothing and personal items in a locker. Your healthcare providers may check your vital signs and ask you to sign a consent form before your test.
You can expect your procedure to take about 15 to 30 minutes if you are having an abdominal ultrasound. The procedure may take over an hour if you have an endoscopic ultrasound or a therapeutic procedure.
Usually, for an invasive procedure, you can expect to receive medication to reduce discomfort.The medication can make you sleepy. It may take several hours for this medication to wear off, and you might need to rest at home after your procedure.
After an invasive procedure, or if you receive pain medication, you will be monitored for a short time afterward to ensure that you are alert and recovering and to monitor for adverse effects, such as bleeding, before you are discharged to go home.
If you start to experience any discomfort, pain, spitting up blood, nausea, or vomiting, contact your healthcare provider about your symptoms.
Aftercare
An abdominal ultrasound should not cause any post-test symptoms or side effects. Until you get a diagnosis and start treatment, you will likely continue to have the same symptoms that you had prior to your test—these are the symptoms that you are being evaluated for.
If you have had an endoscopic ultrasound, you may have a sore throat for a few hours or even up to a few days after your procedure. You may also experience some abdominal discomfort.
If you’ve had a needle insertion or a surgical incision as part of a treatment, you will need to follow instructions regarding wound care and follow up with your healthcare provider to get the incision checked.
You can also expect to begin treatment for a pancreatic condition, such aspancreatitisor pancreatic cancer.
More Testing With Abnormal Ultrasound
Depending on the results of your pancreatic ultrasound, you may need further diagnostic testing. Additional testing can include other imaging tests to evaluate your liver, stomach, colon, or other abdominal structures.
In some cases, you may need to have a biopsy.This is an invasive diagnostic procedure in which your provider surgically removes a small sample to be analyzed under a microscope. If your pancreatic ultrasound result raises a concern, such as that you might have cancer involving your liver or colon, you may need a liver or colon biopsy.
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Summary
An ultrasound of the pancreas can be a useful diagnostic tool if you’re having signs or symptoms of disease that could be affecting your pancreas or if you have risk factors of pancreatic disease. A pancreatic ultrasound can be performed as a noninvasive procedure, or as an invasive procedure.
Your healthcare team will work with you to decide which is best. Depending on the results of your pancreatic ultrasound, your next steps of testing and treatment will follow.
6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Okaniwa S.How does ultrasound manage pancreatic diseases? Ultrasound findings and scanning maneuvers.Gut Liver.2020;14(1):37-46. doi:10.5009/gnl18567National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Diagnosis of pancreatitis.Șolea SF, Brisc MC, Orășeanu A, et al.Revolutionizing the pancreatic tumor diagnosis: emerging trends in imaging technologies: a systematic review.Medicina (Kaunas). 2024;60(5):695. doi:10.3390/medicina60050695Kurita Y, Utsunomiya D, Kubota K, et al.Diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced dual-energy computed tomography in the pancreatic parenchymal and delayed phases for pancreatic cancer.Tomography. 2024;10(10):1591-1604. doi:10.3390/tomography10100117Tomishima K, Isayama H, Suzuki A, Ishii S, Takahashi S, Fujisawa T.Technical review of endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage/anastomosis and trans-endosonographically created route procedures for the treatment of pancreatic diseases.DEN Open.2024;5(1):e393. doi:10.1002/deo2.393Pyo JS, Lim DH, Min KW, et al.Diagnostic assessment of endoscopic ultrasonography-fine needle aspiration cytology in the pancreas: a comparison between liquid-based preparation and conventional smear.Medicina(Kaunas). 2024;60(6):930. doi:10.3390/medicina60060930
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Okaniwa S.How does ultrasound manage pancreatic diseases? Ultrasound findings and scanning maneuvers.Gut Liver.2020;14(1):37-46. doi:10.5009/gnl18567National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Diagnosis of pancreatitis.Șolea SF, Brisc MC, Orășeanu A, et al.Revolutionizing the pancreatic tumor diagnosis: emerging trends in imaging technologies: a systematic review.Medicina (Kaunas). 2024;60(5):695. doi:10.3390/medicina60050695Kurita Y, Utsunomiya D, Kubota K, et al.Diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced dual-energy computed tomography in the pancreatic parenchymal and delayed phases for pancreatic cancer.Tomography. 2024;10(10):1591-1604. doi:10.3390/tomography10100117Tomishima K, Isayama H, Suzuki A, Ishii S, Takahashi S, Fujisawa T.Technical review of endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage/anastomosis and trans-endosonographically created route procedures for the treatment of pancreatic diseases.DEN Open.2024;5(1):e393. doi:10.1002/deo2.393Pyo JS, Lim DH, Min KW, et al.Diagnostic assessment of endoscopic ultrasonography-fine needle aspiration cytology in the pancreas: a comparison between liquid-based preparation and conventional smear.Medicina(Kaunas). 2024;60(6):930. doi:10.3390/medicina60060930
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Okaniwa S.How does ultrasound manage pancreatic diseases? Ultrasound findings and scanning maneuvers.Gut Liver.2020;14(1):37-46. doi:10.5009/gnl18567National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Diagnosis of pancreatitis.Șolea SF, Brisc MC, Orășeanu A, et al.Revolutionizing the pancreatic tumor diagnosis: emerging trends in imaging technologies: a systematic review.Medicina (Kaunas). 2024;60(5):695. doi:10.3390/medicina60050695Kurita Y, Utsunomiya D, Kubota K, et al.Diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced dual-energy computed tomography in the pancreatic parenchymal and delayed phases for pancreatic cancer.Tomography. 2024;10(10):1591-1604. doi:10.3390/tomography10100117Tomishima K, Isayama H, Suzuki A, Ishii S, Takahashi S, Fujisawa T.Technical review of endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage/anastomosis and trans-endosonographically created route procedures for the treatment of pancreatic diseases.DEN Open.2024;5(1):e393. doi:10.1002/deo2.393Pyo JS, Lim DH, Min KW, et al.Diagnostic assessment of endoscopic ultrasonography-fine needle aspiration cytology in the pancreas: a comparison between liquid-based preparation and conventional smear.Medicina(Kaunas). 2024;60(6):930. doi:10.3390/medicina60060930
Okaniwa S.How does ultrasound manage pancreatic diseases? Ultrasound findings and scanning maneuvers.Gut Liver.2020;14(1):37-46. doi:10.5009/gnl18567
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Diagnosis of pancreatitis.
Șolea SF, Brisc MC, Orășeanu A, et al.Revolutionizing the pancreatic tumor diagnosis: emerging trends in imaging technologies: a systematic review.Medicina (Kaunas). 2024;60(5):695. doi:10.3390/medicina60050695
Kurita Y, Utsunomiya D, Kubota K, et al.Diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced dual-energy computed tomography in the pancreatic parenchymal and delayed phases for pancreatic cancer.Tomography. 2024;10(10):1591-1604. doi:10.3390/tomography10100117
Tomishima K, Isayama H, Suzuki A, Ishii S, Takahashi S, Fujisawa T.Technical review of endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage/anastomosis and trans-endosonographically created route procedures for the treatment of pancreatic diseases.DEN Open.2024;5(1):e393. doi:10.1002/deo2.393
Pyo JS, Lim DH, Min KW, et al.Diagnostic assessment of endoscopic ultrasonography-fine needle aspiration cytology in the pancreas: a comparison between liquid-based preparation and conventional smear.Medicina(Kaunas). 2024;60(6):930. doi:10.3390/medicina60060930
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