Diagnostic role of minor salivary glands biopsy in Sjögren's syndrome: correlations between histology and autoimmunity in a large, monocentric cohort

The Role of Major Salivary Gland Ultrasound in the Diagnostic Workup of Sicca Syndrome: A Large Single-Centre Study

(1) Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of major salivary gland ultrasonography (SGUS) in primary Sjogren's syndrome (SS), we used the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Clinical Trials (OMERACT) scoring system on a large single-centre cohort of patients with sicca syndrome. (2) Method: We retrospectively collected the clinical, imaging and serological data of all the patients referred with a suspicion of SS who underwent SGUS and minor salivary glands biopsy. (3) Results: A total of 132 patients were included. The SGUS scores were correlated between the two sides (p < 0.001). The diagnostic cut-off for SS (AUROC: 0.7408) was 6 for the SGUS-global sum (sensitivity: 32.43%; specificity: 96.84%). The cut-off with the highest specificity for SS diagnosis was 7. In the patients with a final diagnosis of SS, the mean SGUS score was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than that of the non-SS patients (3.73 vs. 1.32 for the SGUS-global sum). A significant correlation was demonstrated between the SGUS scores and final SS diagnosis (p < 0.001), biopsy positivity (p < 0.001), ANA positivity (p = 0.016), Ro-SSA positivity (p = 0.01), and gland fibrosis (p = 0.02). (4) Conclusions: SGUS, using the OMERACT scoring system, has moderate sensitivity and high specificity for the diagnosis of SS. The scoring showed a strong and direct correlation with all the clinical hallmarks of SS diagnosis, such as the positivity of a labial salivary gland biopsy, ANA and Ro-SSA statuses, and salivary gland fibrosis. Because of its high specificity, a SGUS-global score > 6 could be therefore employed for the diagnosis of SS in the case of ANA negativity or the unavailability of a biopsy.