Photo Credit: Ivan-balvan

The following is a summary of “A Stratification Approach Based on Salivary Gland Ultrasonography for Assessing Secretory Function in Sjögren Disease,” published in the November 2024 issue of Rheumatology by Huang et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to develop an ultrasonographic scoring model for staging salivary gland (SGs) hypofunction in patients with Sjögren disease (SjD).  

They assessed SG secretory hypofunction by measuring whole salivary flow. B-mode ultrasonography was performed bilaterally on the parotid and submandibular glands, evaluating the gland and Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) scores. The correlation between these scores and SG secretory function in patients with SjD was analyzed to develop an ultrasonographic scoring model for staging SG hypofunction. 

The results showed that 164 patients with SjD were included in a 1-center derivation cohort and 107 patients in a double-center validation cohort. Ultrasonographic scores had excellent discriminatory ability (area under the curve > 0.8; P < 0.001). A novel scoring model revealed that low OMERACT scores (< 5) indicated initial-stage SG hypofunction, high scores (> 9) indicated end-stage and moderate scores (5-9) required further stratification. SG hypofunction incidence among 271 patients was 18% in the initial stage, 58% in the progressive stage, and 100% in the end stage (P < 0.01). Lacrimal gland involvement and hyperglobulinemia (IgG > 16 IU/mL) were significantly lower in the initial stage (P < 0.01). 

Investigators developed a novel ultrasonographic scoring model with precise definitions for each stage of SG hypofunction. This model provided a robust and clinically significant approach to stratifying SG secretory hypofunction in Sjögren disease. 

Source: jrheum.org/content/early/2024/12/07/jrheum.2024-0711