The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic utility of visual versus semi-quantitative analysis of salivary gland scintigraphy in the diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome (SS).
99mTc-pertechnetate salivary gland scintigraphy was performed in 145 patients (133 women, 12 men) with clinically suspicious SS. The images were interpreted with visual and semiquantitative methods and the diagnostic performances for SS were compared using uptake and excretory functional parameters.
In total, 76 patients (52.4%) were finally diagnosed with SS. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of visual analysis for the diagnosis of SS were 88.2%, 48.6%, 65.1%, 79.1%, and 69.2%, respectively. Semiquantitative values, the area under the ROC curve for uptake ratio and percentage excretion in the right salivary glands were signiﬁcantly greater than 0.5 (p < 0.05). However, the percentage excretion in the left salivary glands did not show a statistically significant diagnostic ability for SS. The diagnostic ability of visual assessment was greater than that of the semiquantitative method in terms of evaluating uptake and excretory function in the submandibular glands.
Visual analysis of salivary gland scintigraphy showed greater diagnostic utility than semiquantitative assessment in the diagnosis of SS, especially in the submandibular glands.