Comparison of the diagnostic value of four scoring systems in primary sjögren's syndrome patients.

Purpose: We attempted to evaluate the diagnostic value of different salivary gland ultrasonography (SGUS) scoring systems for primary sjögren's syndrome (pSS).

Methods: Total 134 patients with pSS and 109 non-SS sicca controls were included in our study. All the cases were evaluated by four scoring systems (such as 0-16 SGUS, 0-3 SGUS, Parotid glands and Submandibular salivary glands scoring system). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed for the four scoring systems.

Results: The mean scores of pSS patients were significantly higher than that of controls by four scoring systems (P<0.01). The AUC (area under the curve) of (0-16) SGUS scoring system (0.916) was higher than Submandibular salivary glands scoring system (0.885) (P=0.016). No significant difference of AUC was observed in (0-3) SGUS scoring system, compared with 0-16, parotid gland and submandibular salivary glands scoring system. The optimal cutoff value of (0-16) SGUS, (0-3) SGUS, Parotid gland, Submandibular salivary glands scoring system was 5, 2, 3, 2, respectively. There was no significant difference in the sensitivity and specificity of the four scoring systems.

Conclusion: The simplified parotid gland scoring system may be the simplified and feasible method for pSS diagnosis.