Maximum standardized uptake value for parotid and submandibular glands in patients with Sjögren's syndrome and submandibular sialolithiasis using salivary gland SPECT/CT.

Recently, SPECT/CT plays an important role in assessing patients with head and neck lesions. The aim of this study was performed to investigate the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) for parotid and submandibular glands in patients with Sjögren's syndrome and submandibular sialolithiasis using salivary gland SPECT/CT. A prospective study was performed in 45 patients with 32 Sjögren's syndrome and 13 submandibular sialolithiasis who underwent salivary gland SPECT/CT. The SUV of parotid and submandibular glands was obtained using a workstation and software. The salivary secretion function of parotid and submandibular glands was defined as ratio of pre- to post-stimulation on SUV. A p value lower than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. The SUV for parotid glands in patients with Sjögren's syndrome at pre-stimulation (18.0 ± 14.3), post-stimulation (12.0 ± 9.4), and ratio of pre- to post-stimulation (1.46 ± 0.52) were significantly lower than those of submandibular sialolithiasis (44.9 ± 8.4 (p < 0.001), 17.8 ± 6.5 (p < 0.001), and 2.75 ± 0.79 (p < 0.001), respectively). The SUV for submandibular glands in patients with Sjögren's syndrome at pre-stimulation (16.9 ± 18.7) were significantly lower than those with sialolithiasis (36.7 ± 27.8, p = 0.004) and without sialolithiasis (39.7 ± 16.0, p = 0.001) in patients with submandibular sialolithiasis. The salivary gland SPECT/CT SUV can be useful in clinical practice for the quantitative management of parotid and submandibular glands in patients with Sjögren's syndrome and submandibular sialolithiasis.