The value of magnetic resonance sialography and magnetic resonance imaging versus conventional sialography of the parotid gland in the diagnosis and staging of Sjögren’s syndrome

The Role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Magnetic Resonance Sialography in the Diagnosis of Various Salivary Gland Disorders: An Interobserver Agreement

“…This was in agreement with the studies by Niemel€ a et al [11], Takagi et al [12], and Ahmed et al [13] in which the same MR sialographic sequence revealed the sialectasis and was useful in the staging of Sj€ ogren's syndrome. Other MR sialographic sequences used in the diagnosis of Sj€ ogren's syndrome were of high diagnostic performance [18,22]; however, a longer acquisition time was used.…”

“…This was in concordance with Izumi et al [28], who concluded that diffusely scattered premature fat deposition is characteristic of salivary glands affected by Sj€ ogren's syndrome. The same results of heterogeneous gland architecture in Sj€ ogren's syndrome were obtained by Niemel€ a et al [11], Takagi et al [12], and Ahmed et al [13]. Therefore, we recommend MRI be performed in addition to MR sialography in cases of stricture because the decreased salivary flow in Sj€ ogren's syndrome may lead to retrograde infection that may cause ductal system inflammation and stricture formation.…”

“…Therefore, the combined use of T1-weighted and STIR MRI together with MR sialography may be needed to precisely diagnose and stage Sj€ ogren's syndrome. This is supported by the study by Ahmed et al [13] in which the combined use of T1-weighted STIR images and MR sialography gave a diagnostic performance of 100% in the diagnosis and staging of Sj€ ogren's syndrome.…”

“…Scorings of MRI and MR sialographic criteria were performed according to Ahmed et al [13] with some modifications; in the current work, the identification of cystic lesions and tumors in T1-and T2-weighted images and MR sialograms was presented. In the present study, five criteria for MRI findings and seven criteria for MR sialographic findings were evaluated for each patient by the three observers, creating 12 criteria for each patient and a total of 84 variables for all glands in the entire study group (12 criteria in seven glands).…”

“…However, in these studies, the image findings were scored with special emphasis on the staging of Sj€ ogren's syndrome [11][12][13], hyperlipidemia, and inflammation [11]; yet, other disorders were not addressed. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the interobserver agreement on the diagnostic ability and quality of MRI together with MR sialography in the assessment of various salivary gland disorders.…”