Normal pancreatic echogenicity: relation to age and body fat.

Normal pancreatic sonograms of 161 patients were evaluated by three experienced sonographers for pancreatic echogenicity. Sonograms were given a grade for pancreatic echogenicity based on its echogenicity compared with the liver's echogenicity. Grade I was given when the pancreas equaled the liver, grade II slightly greater than the liver, grade III definitely greater than the liver, and grade IV when the pancreas was as echogenic as the retroperitoneal fat. Pancreatic echogenicity was correlated with the patient's age and subcutaneous fat. Statistical analysis by computer methods indicated that both age and body fat deposition are determinants of increasing echogenicity and that they function independently. A formula is given for the expected pancreatic echogenicity (PE) as a function of age and subcutaneous fat: PE = 0.788 + (age) (0.021 +/- 0.003) + (skin thickness) (0.48 +/- 0.08).