Contrast EUSContrast EUS of the Pancreas

RATIONALE: Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) is the leading method to evaluate the pancreas but there may be difficulty characterizing small lesions, tumors which are not adenocarcinomas and neoplasia in the setting of pancreatitis.

INTERVENTION: The innovation in this project will be the addition of intravenous contrast to standard EUS examination if the pancreas.

PURPOSE: The aim is to determine if contrast enhances the ability of EUS to accurately diagnose lesions and target biopsies, and to define the quantitative features of this method.

STUDY POPULATION:The population will include patients with pancreas cysts, masses, and inflammation presenting for EUS as part of standard clinical care.

METHODOLOGY: This will be a prospective tandem trial involving conventional EUS, followed by EUS with contrast, followed by subsequent quantitative processing of contrast EUS imaging.

ENDOINTS:Study endpoints will include the yield contrast EUS to evaluate pancreas cysts, masses, and inflammation. The impact of contrast EUS to better target the FNA of the chosen lesion will be assessed. Intra and interobserver variability will be assessed by comparing conventional EUS and contrast EUS of each case in a random order (intraobserver agreement) and among a group of blinded endosonographers (interobserver agreement).