Abstract

To assess diagnostic effectiveness of Sjögren’s syndrome (SS), salivary gland scintigraphy (SGS), magnetic resonance (MR) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) were performed in 54 patients (primary SS, secondary SS and connective tissue disease (CTD) but without SS). Results showed that SGS and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provided high-resolution images of the parotid glands that enabled apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements. After overall analysis, all of the oral activity indices, the maximum accumulation (MA) and uptake rate (UR) of the parotid gland clearly decreased asclinical severity progressed, and statistically significant differences were observed. Our technique may prove helpful in diagnosing the progression of SS beyond its early stages.

Key words: Diffusion-weighted imaging, salivary gland scintigraphy, Sjögren’s syndrome, receiver operating characteristic curve.