Salivary gland scintigraphy in diagnosis of Sj(o)gren's syndrome / 中国医学影像技术

ABSTRACT

Objective To assess the value of salivary gland scintigraphy in diagnosis of Sj(o)gren's syndrome (SS).Methods A total of 44 patients with clinically suspicious SS were included.The data of salivary gland scintigraphy were retrospectively analyzed and the time-radioactivity curve (TAC) was obtained by outlining ROI in bilateral parotid glands and submaxillary glands.Uptake index (UI) and excretion fraction (EF) were defined.Both UI and EF were compared with the visual assessment and final diagnosis respectively.Results UI and EF of bilateral parotid glands and submaxillary glands in SS patients were significantly lower than those in non-SS patients (all P＜0.05).The impaired salivary gland function was classified as 0-3 grades by visual assessment.The UI of bilateral parotid glands and submaxillary glands were negatively correlated with the qualitative classification.While there were no significant correlations between EF and qualitative classification (all P＞0.05),except for that of right submaxillary gland (r=-0.312,P=0.039).The comprehensive diagnostic efficacy of UI on SS patients was higher than those of visual assessment,but their area under curves of ROC were not significantly different (all P＞0.05).Conclusion UI and EF can effectively evaluate salivary gland function and serve as objective tools to distinguish patients with SS.