Ultrasonography of the salivary glands in the evaluation of Sjögren's syndrome. Comparison with sialography.

Ultrasonography (US) was evaluated as noninvasive method to determine salivary gland involvement and compared with sialography in patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and patients with only objective xerostomia and/or xerophthalmia. Patients with complaints of dry eyes and dry mouth but with no objective abnormalities served as control group. Ultrasound revealed a decreased parotid gland reflectivity in most of the patients with SS, compared with only 2 patients in the other group (p = 0.002). Our study suggests that US can be a useful, noninvasive method in the diagnostic work-up of patients with sicca complaints.