Priscoline and epinephrine in selective pancreatic angiography: a comparison study using high pressure injection, Valsalva maneuver and geometric magnification.

The value of selective, high injection rate, pancreatic pharmacoangiography was assessed in 114 patients. Opacification of the pancreas was graded on a 0-4+ scale. Selective injection of gastroduodenal and small pancreatic arteries gave the best results, 3.7+. Celiac injection rating without drugs was 0.9+, with epinephrine 2.2+, and with Priscoline 2.7+. Average ratings of hepatic artery injections were 2.6+ with epinephrine and 3.0+ with Priscoline; splenic artery injections were 2.5+ and 3.5+, respectively. Although superselective injection was possible in only 50% of the cases, addition of epinephrine and Priscoline resulted in an average grading of 3.4+ (yielding a preoperative diagnostic accuracy of 94%).