Functional assessment of major salivary glands using scintigraphy

Abstract

To demonstrate a methodology of scintigraphy imaging interpretation considering pixel intensity values in groups of patients presenting lupus erythematosus, Sjögren’s Syndrome (SS), SS associated to systemic lupus erythematosus, parotiditis, drug-induced sialorrhea and salivary glands disease-free. Material and methods: A total of 36 salivary gland scintigraphy images that were from patients with lupus erythematosus, SS, SS combined lupus, parotiditis, and drug-induced sialorrhea were assessed. The pixel intensity of the scintigrams was also evaluated using the standardized grayscale at 8 bits, Images were analyzed under a region of interest (ROI) of 2 cm2 at maximum uptake using ImageJ. Results: Significant differences between the groups were obtained both for parotid (p=0.026) and submandibular glands (p=0.0952). Statistical significant differences were observed in post-hoc tests between Lupus combined with SS patients, for parotid and submandibular glands, when compared to normal group (p=0.04 and p=0.03 respectively). Pixel values were higher for Lupus combined with SS patients, representing a lower uptake. Conclusion: The pixel intensity assessment was able to differentiate and point to lower salivary flow rates for the systemic lupus erythematosus combined with SS patients when compared to other disorders affecting the salivary gland function.