Quantitative Salivary Gland Scintigraphy Research Articles

Quantitative salivary gland scintigraphy in the diagnosis of parenchymal damage after treatment with radioiodine

This study was undertaken to quantify salivary gland parenchymal damage after radioiodine treatment with a standard protective regimen of ascorbic acid. Altogether, 106 patients underwent quantitative salivary gland scintigraphy with 99Tcm-pertechnetate prior to and 3 months after radioiodine therapy. Parenchymal function was quantified by calculating 99Tcm-pertechnetate uptake 13 min post-injection. Patients received 131I doses ranging from 400 MBq to 24 GBq (cumulative). Among the patients who received large doses of 131I, severe parenchymal destruction could be visually analysed as well as quantitatively evaluated. In contrast, after low-dose radioiodine treatment, mild parenchymal impairment was demonstrated by quantitative evaluation only. In conclusion, standardized quantitative salivary gland scintigraphy is essential for the reliable detection of mild parenchymal malfunction. Despite the standard protection regimen using ascorbic acid as a sialogogue, radioiodine therapy induces loss of salivary gland parenchymal function even with low doses of 131I.

Diagnostic différentiel des troubles salivaires par scintigraphie quantitative

The scintigraphy of salivary glands with technetium-99m pertechnetate is predisposed to be an excellent test for evaluating salivary gland function. But the absence of a sufficiently precise and simple quantitative analysis procedure of the technetium uptake has reduced its clinical use. For this reason, the authors propose a new and quick method: the quantitative salivary gland scintigraphy. With an uptake index (ratio of technetium uptake between the glandular tissue and a cervical reference) they get precise quantitative information on functional activity. Among other applications, the test allows to make within a few minutes, in a case of xerostomia, the differential diagnosis between Sjäogren syndrome and sialosis.