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Reproducibility of minor salivary gland biopsy reports in Sjögren’s syndrome and its correlation with disease biomarkers

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Abstract

Introduction/objective

Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disease that is challenging to diagnose. Although minor salivary gland biopsy (MSGB) is a useful ancillary study, different factors make its interpretation difficult. Also, the significance of distinct histopathological findings is unknown. We aimed to determine the concordance between pathologists and rheumatologists in interpreting the MSGB results, as well as the correlation between MSGB findings, paraclinical features, and SS diagnosis.

Methods

This descriptive retrospective study reviewed medical charts from 998 individuals from a single center where MSGBs had been performed. Rheumatologists interpreted biopsy reports from pathologists, and interobserver variability was calculated. Logistic regression using immunological parameters and histological findings was performed.

Results

We included 998 patients with a median age of 55 years (45–64 years); the majority of patients were females (n = 934, 93.6%). Chisholm and Mason’s scoring system was the most frequently used scale (55.1%). There was a good correlation between pathologists and rheumatologists for diagnosing SS using MSGB findings (Cohen’s kappa 0.91). We observed a strong association between interstitial plasmocytes and SS (OR 24, 95% CI 9.09–64.94, p = 0).

Conclusion

The MSGB is an essential tool for the diagnosis of SS. Although different factors may negatively affect its reproducibility, histological findings, such as interstitial plasmocytes, may predict the risk of developing SS.

Key Points

• We provide information based on 998 patients with suspected SS diagnosis.

• Chisholm and Mason’s scale is the most frequently used compared to Greenspan’s and Tarpley’s scales.

• There is good correlation between pathologists and rheumatologists for the diagnosis of SS using MSGB.

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All data are available in our center.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GIRAT: Grupo de Investigación en Reumatología, Autoinmunidad y Medicina Traslacional, Fundación Valle Del Lili and Universidad Icesi, Cra 98 Nro.18-49, Cali, 760032, Colombia

    Álvaro J. Vivas, Mario Bautista-Vargas, Andrés Agualimpia, Ingrid Ruiz-Ordoñez, Ivana Nieto-Aristizábal & Gabriel J. Tobón

  2. Medical School, Universidad Icesi, Calle 18 No. 122-135, Cali, Colombia

    Álvaro J. Vivas, Sebastián Portacio, Andrés Garcés-Palacio & María-Alejandra Urbano

  3. Unit of Rheumatology, Medical School, Universidad Icesi, Calle 18 No. 122-135, Cali, Colombia

    Mario Bautista-Vargas

  4. Unit of Rheumatology, Fundación Valle del Lili, Cra 98 No. 18-49, Cali, 760032, Colombia

    Andrés Agualimpia & Gabriel J. Tobón

  5. Fundación Valle del Lili, Centro de Investigaciones Clínicas, Cra 98 No. 18-49, Cali, 760032, Colombia

    Ingrid Ruiz-Ordoñez & Ivana Nieto-Aristizábal

Authors
  1. Álvaro J. Vivas
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  2. Mario Bautista-Vargas
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  3. Sebastián Portacio
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  4. Andrés Garcés-Palacio
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  5. María-Alejandra Urbano
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  6. Andrés Agualimpia
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  7. Ingrid Ruiz-Ordoñez
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  9. Gabriel J. Tobón
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriel J. Tobón.

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This study was approved by the institutional Ethics Committee of Fundación Valle del Lili, protocol number 1588.

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As this is a retrospective study an exemption of informed consent was obtained.

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Vivas, Á.J., Bautista-Vargas, M., Portacio, S. et al. Reproducibility of minor salivary gland biopsy reports in Sjögren’s syndrome and its correlation with disease biomarkers. Clin Rheumatol 40, 2285–2292 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-020-05532-3

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