Is salivary gland ultrasonography a useful tool in Sjögren’s syndrome? A systematic review

Abstract

US is a valuable tool for detecting salivary gland abnormalities in pSS. Its reliability has been poorly investigated and there is considerable variation in the definition of US abnormalities. Further studies are required to validate and standardize the US definition of salivary gland in pSS.

In primary Sjögren's syndrome high absolute numbers and proportions of B cells in parotid glands predict responsiveness to rituximab as defined by ESSDAI, but not by SSRI

“…Like Cornec et al , we also feel that ultrasound has merit in the diagnosis and assessment of the disease activity of pSS 1 14 15. However, before making salivary gland ultrasound a standard in pSS diagnostics, disease monitoring and treatment evaluation, there are several questions that need to be answered first, that is, the reliability of ultrasound in the evaluation of changes that occur in the major salivary glands of patients with pSS, and the validity of ultrasound to detect the histopathological changes occurring in the parotid tissue of patients (suspected) with pSS (in particular direct comparison of ultrasonographical and histopathological features).…”

Elastographic ultrasound: an additional image tool in Sjögren's syndrome

“…3 Finally, we registered the p-SWE through the median of the shear wave velocity (SWV) values expressed in m/s among the four glands. Information was presented in a color-coded map ranging from 0.5 to 6.5 m/s, in which abnormal stiffer areas were shown in red, while in the opposite side of the spectrum, the purple/blue areas represented normal parenchyma.…”

The Potential Role for Early Biomarker Testing as Part of a Modern, Multidisciplinary Approach to Sjögren’s Syndrome Diagnosis

“…It is important that biopsy interpretation be performed by a pathology professional experienced with SS histology to avoid diagnostic errors. Salivary gland ultrasonography (SGUS) can aid in the differential diagnosis of primary SS [48] and has been reported to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the ACR classification criteria for SS [49][50][51][52]. However, there is a great deal of heterogeneity among SGUS scoring systems, and the procedure needs to be further standardized to increase its reproducibility [51,53].…”

“…Salivary gland ultrasonography (SGUS) can aid in the differential diagnosis of primary SS [48] and has been reported to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the ACR classification criteria for SS [49][50][51][52]. However, there is a great deal of heterogeneity among SGUS scoring systems, and the procedure needs to be further standardized to increase its reproducibility [51,53]. Another noninvasive and potentially useful test not mentioned in any SS diagnostic guidelines is acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging of the parotid and submandibular glands; its diagnostic sensitivity is 81%, and its specificity is 67% [54].…”