A clinical pilot study of salivary gland secretion for xerostomia patients with Sjögren’s syndrome using SPECT/CT

Introduction This study examined whether time-activity curves (TAC) can be used to differentiate between patients with and without Sjogren's syndrome using SPECT/CT. Methods Thirteen xerostomia patients (5 with Sjogren's syndrome and 8 without Sjogren's syndrome) underwent SPECT/CT. Salivary gland secretion data were digitally observed, producing separate time-activity curves (TAC) for the submandibular glands and parotid glands using SPECT/CT. The salivary gland secretion fraction was defined as A (before stimulation test [counts/frame]) divided by B (after stimulation test [counts/frame]). The A/B ratios of patients with Sjogren's syndrome and those without Sjogren's syndrome were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test for nonparametric data. Results The A/B ratio of parotid glands with Sjogren's syndrome (1.3 ± 0.2) was significantly lower than for those without Sjogren's syndrome (2.7 ± 0.7). The A/B ratio of submandibular glands with Sjogren's syndrome (1.3 ± 0.4) is significantly lower than for those without Sjogren's syndrome (1.8 ± 0.6). Conclusion The TAC for the submandibular glands and parotid glands using SPECT/CT may be useful for the objective and quantitative diagnosis of Sjogren's syndrome.