To explore the feasibility and stiffness measurement values of shear wave elastography (SWE) at different sites of the pancreas in healthy adults, and to analyze the factors influencing them.

In July 2021, a total of 47 healthy adults recruited through the Internet underwent pancreatic SWE, and the characteristics including sex, age, body mass index (BMI), and the sites and depth of examination were collected. The factors influencing the success rate were analyzed by logistic regression, and the factors influencing measurement values of pancreatic elastography were explored by analysis of variance and linear regression.

The success rate of pancreatic elastography was related to the measurement site [P=0.011, odds ratio (OR)=0.50], with the highest success rate achieved in the body of the pancreas (93.6%), followed by the head of the pancreas (74.5%), and the lowest in the tail of the pancreas (48.9%). The elasticity measurements had no significant differences in different parts of the pancreas [(10.00±2.06) kPa vs (8.77±2.02) kPa vs (9.90±2.32) kPa, F=2.33, P=0.105). The depth of the sampling box had an independent influence on the elasticity measurements of the pancreatic body [regression coefficient (r)=2.16, P＜0.001], and the deeper the depth of the sampling box, the higher the elasticity measurements.

The feasibility of pancreatic SWE examination in healthy adults is influenced by the sites of examination, and the elasticity measurement values in the pancreatic body are related to the depth of the sampling box.