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Does ultrasound elastography have a role as a diagnostic method for Sjögren’s syndrome in the salivary glands? A systematic review

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Abstract

Objective

This systematic review was performed to examine the usefulness of salivary gland ultrasound elastography (USE) as a diagnostic tool for Sjögren’s syndrome (SjS).

Methods

Electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science: Science Citation Index) were searched to identify studies using USE to diagnose SjS from database inception to 15 July 2022. The primary outcome was improved diagnostic accuracy for SjS with the use of USE. Risk of bias and applicability concerns were assessed using the GRADE system, which is continuously developed by the GRADE Working Group.

Results

Among 4550 screened studies, 24 full-text articles describing the applications of USE to diagnose SjS were reviewed. The overall risk of bias was determined to be low for 17 of the 24 articles, medium for 5, and high for 2. Articles comparing patients with SjS and healthy subjects reported high diagnostic accuracy of USE, with most results showed statistically significant differences (parotid glands: 15 of the 16 articles, submandibular glands: 11 of the 14 articles).

Conclusions

This systematic review suggests that the assessment of salivary glands using USE is a useful diagnostic tool for SjS.

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Data availability

The data analyzed during the current study will be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Angela Morben, DVM, ELS, from Edanz (https://jp.edanz.com/ac) for editing a draft of this manuscript. We also thank Hilde Iren Flaaten, Special Librarian, Library of Medicine and Science at the University of Oslo for providing assistance during the literature search.

Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 18K17184 (Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, School of Dentistry, Aichi Gakuin University, 2-11 Suemori-dori, Chikusa-Ku, Nagoya, 464-8651, Japan

    Yoshitaka Kise, Chiaki Kuwada & Eiichiro Ariji

  2. Department of Maxillofacial Radiology, Institute of Clinical Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Anne Møystad

  3. Department of Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine, Institute of Clinical Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Tore Bjørnland

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  1. Yoshitaka Kise
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Contributions

YK, AM, and TB were responsible for the review conceptualization, literature search, data analysis, and drafting and critical revision of the manuscript. CK performed the literature search, data analysis, and critical revision of the manuscript. EA performed critical revision of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yoshitaka Kise.

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Kise, Y., Møystad, A., Kuwada, C. et al. Does ultrasound elastography have a role as a diagnostic method for Sjögren’s syndrome in the salivary glands? A systematic review. Oral Radiol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11282-024-00740-y

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