Salivary gland ultrasound findings are associated with clinical and serologic features in primary Sjögren’s syndrome patients.

Objective: Salivary gland ultrasound (SGUS) has been applied in the diagnosis of primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS). To investigate the association of SGUS findings with clinical and analytical features of pSS patients. Material and methods: 54 pSS patients underwent SGUS evaluation. The parenchymal homogeneity of bilateral parotid and submandibular glands was graded using a score of 0 (normal) to 4 (gross inhomogeneity). Patients were classified into two groups according to the highest SGUS score obtained. The grades 1 and 2 were considered to be normal and grades 3 and 4 to represent pathological SGUS findings. Demographic, clinical and laboratorial data were collected and compared between the groups. Results: Nineteen of 54 patients had pathological SGUS findings. These were associated with higher ESSDAI and positivity for rheumatoid factor and anti-SSB antibody. Anti-SSB antibody was strongly and independently associated with pathological US findings in the salivary gland of pSS patients. Conclusion: This study provides further evidence that salivary gland ultrasound is linked to clinical and autoimmunity profile in pSS and confirm what has been reported in the literature. SGUS represents a useful imaging tool for diagnostic and prognostic of pSS.