MRCP Exam

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KEY POINTS

• An MRCP exam is a procedure used to examine the ducts that drain fluid from your liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.
• Ask your provider how to prepare for your MRCP and how to take care of yourself at home.
• Ask your healthcare provider how and when you will get your test results.

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What is an MRCP exam?

MRCP (magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography) is a procedure that uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to show detailed pictures of the ducts that drain fluid from your liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. It’s a special type of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) exam.

The liver makes bile that helps your body break down the fat in food, and ducts carry bile to the gallbladder. The gallbladder is a small sac under your liver on your right side that stores bile. A bile duct carries bile to the small intestine. The pancreas makes fluid that helps break down food. A duct carries digestive fluids from the pancreas to the upper part of your small intestine.

When is it used?

An MRCP may be done to find a problem in the bile and pancreas ducts such as scarring, tumors, or bile stones.

How do I prepare for this procedure?

Usually no preparation is needed for an MRCP, but in some cases, your healthcare provider may give you instructions to follow before the scan. Your instructions may include:

• Changes to how you take your medicines
• What you can eat and drink before the MRCP exam
• Getting other tests or procedures

Metal will interfere with an MRCP, so:

• Wear loose, comfortable clothing without metal fastenings such as zippers or clasps.
• Don’t wear jewelry or have metal objects in your pockets.
• Tell your healthcare provider if you have any metal in your body such as plates or screws from a previous surgery. The metal may cause the MRCP pictures to be blurry.
• Tell your healthcare provider if you have a pacemaker. You may not be able to have an MRCP.
• Some skin medicine patches contain metals. The patches could overheat during an MRCP and burn your skin. If you wear a medicine patch, you may need to remove it before an MRCP. Talk with your healthcare provider about this.
• Tell your healthcare provider if you have tattoos especially on the eyelids. Some tattoo inks contain metal particles that can cause the skin to get warm during the MRCP.

Tell your healthcare provider if you are or may be pregnant. Although there is no proof that an MRCP will hurt a baby during the first trimester of pregnancy, the National Radiological Protection Board recommends not using it during the first 3 months of pregnancy. MRCP may be used safely later in pregnancy.

Most MRCP machines are tunnel shaped, which means you will be in a small space during the scan. Tell your healthcare provider if you have anxiety or fears when you are in small or crowded spaces. Your provider may give you medicine to help you feel less nervous, or you may be able to go to a site with an open MRCP scanner.

What happens during this procedure?

With most machines, you will lie on a narrow bed that moves through the MRCP machine. Some machines move over the bed. You will need to be very still during the scan so the pictures will not be blurry. Sometimes you will be given IV fluid called contrast dye before you have the MRCP. Contrast dye can make abnormal areas in your body easier to see in the pictures created by the MRCP.

Most MRCPs take 30 to 60 minutes and some take longer. You will hear knocking and a whirring sound while the pictures are being taken. If you are concerned that the noise will bother you, ask the person doing the scan if you can wear earplugs or listen to music during the scan. You will be able to speak with the person doing the scan so you can let them know if you are having any problems.

When the scan is over you may go home.

Ask your healthcare provider when and how you will get the results.

What happens after this procedure?

When the scan is over you may go home.

• If you received IV contrast dye, drink several glasses of water after the MRCP, unless your healthcare provider has limited the amount of liquid you should drink.
• Follow your healthcare provider's instructions.
• Ask your healthcare provider:
  • How and when you will get your test results
  • If there are activities you should avoid, and when you can return to your normal activities
  • How to take care of yourself at home
  • What symptoms or problems you should watch for and what to do if you have them

Make sure you know when you should come back for a checkup.

What are the risks of this procedure?

Every procedure or treatment has risks. Tell your healthcare provider if you have kidney problems before the MRCP.

In rare cases, you may have an allergic reaction to the contrast dye used during the procedure.

Be sure to discuss any other questions or concerns that you may have.