The usefulness of ultrasound in the diagnostics of Sjögren’s syndrome
Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune exocrinopathy which manifests itself with dryness of the eyes and the oral cavity. These symptoms comprise a so-called sicca syndrome (xerostomia and xerophthalmia). Two forms of this disease may be distinguished: primary Sjögren’s syndrome which affects saliva...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Medical Communications Sp. z o.o.
2013-06-01
|
Series: | Journal of Ultrasonography |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://jultrason.pl/index.php/issues/volume-13-no-53/the-usefulness-of-ultrasound-in-the-diagnostics-of-sjoegren-s-syndrome?aid=148 |
Summary: | Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune exocrinopathy which manifests itself with dryness
of the eyes and the oral cavity. These symptoms comprise a so-called sicca syndrome
(xerostomia and xerophthalmia). Two forms of this disease may be distinguished: primary
Sjögren’s syndrome which affects salivary glands and secondary Sjögren’s syndrome with
other autoimmune diseases present such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus
or systemic scleroderma. The diagnosis is based on the classification criteria
established in 2002 by a group of American and European scientists (American-European
Consensus Group), which involve the interview and physical examination as well as
serological, histopathological and radiological tests. Most of these examinations show
some limitations such as invasiveness, expensiveness or limited accessibility. The latest
research suggests that ultrasound examination may appear promising in the diagnostics
of the main salivary glands: submandibular and parotid glands. It is an accessible and
relatively cheap examination with high sensitivity and specificity values which are comparable
to those obtained via conventional means used in the diagnostics of this disease,
i.e. biopsy of the minor salivary glands, sialography and scintigraphy, as well as superior
to those obtained in sialometry and Schirmer’s test. Additionally, ultrasonography correlates
with the results of magnetic resonance imaging. Therefore, a number of authors
claim that US examination should be included in the classification criteria of Sjögren’s
syndrome. The aim of this article is to present the diagnostic capacity of the US examination
in Sjögren’s syndrome using the current ultrasound classification systems based on
the grey-scale, Doppler and contrast-enhanced examinations. The latest research confirms
that the most valuable diagnostic criterion in Sjögren’s syndrome is the heterogeneity
of the glandular parenchyma. The outcome of the examination greatly depends on
the examiner’s experience. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 2084-8404 2451-070X |