Purpose: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance (MR) sialography with that of conventional sialography in the assessment of salivary gland disease in Sjögren syndrome.
Materials and methods: Thirty-five patients (32 women, three men; age range, 18-69 years) suspected of having Sjögren syndrome were examined with MR sialography and conventional sialography. Gradient and spin-echo MR sialography was performed with a 1.5-T system. MR sialographic findings were compared with conventional sialographic findings.
Results: In 31 (89%) patients, the stage of salivary gland disease determined with MR sialography accurately correlated with that determined with conventional sialography. However, the stage at MR sialography was higher in two patients: They had stage I disease but were determined to have stage II disease. In two other patients, the stage at MR sialography was lower: A patient with stage II disease and a patient with stage III disease were determined to have stage I and stage II disease, respectively. The correlation between the stage at conventional sialography and that at MR sialography (P < .001) can be estimated with the following equation: conventional sialographic stage = 0.021 + 0.982 x (MR sialographic stage). Both the sensitivity and the specificity of MR sialography in the diagnosis of Sjögren syndrome were 100%.
Conclusion: MR sialography is highly accurate in the evaluation of salivary gland disease in Sjögren syndrome.