Clinical Analysis of the Test Results of the Japanese Revised Criteria for Diagnosis of Sjögren’s Syndrome

Abstract

We investigated the test results from 73 patients who were diagnosed based on the Japanese revised criteria for the diagnosis of Sjögren’s syndrome (SjS). When a patient showed 2 positive results, he was diagnosed as having SjS. Twenty-six of 73 patients were definitively diagnosed as having SjS. Eleven patients had one positive test result only. Thirty-six had three negative results. The histopathologic test was performed on 11 patients, and all 11 had positive results. The oral test was performed on 23 patients, and positive results were obtained for 18. The ocular test was performed on 15 patients, and positive results were detected in 9. The serologic test was performed on 26 patients, and 14 patients showed positive results. In the combinations of the serologic test and the oral test, 9 patients were diagnosed as having SjS. In the combinations of the oral test and the histopathologic test, 7 patients were positively diagnosed. In the serologic test and the ocular test, 4 were positively diagnosed. In the ocular test and the histopathologic test, 3 were positively diagnosed. In the oral test and the ocular test, 2 were positively diagnosed. In the serologic test and the histopathologic test, 1 patient was positively diagnosed. When the patient showed a positive result on the first serologic test, one of the residual tests certainly showed a positive result. This study suggested a patient was definitively diagnosed as having SjS when the first serologic test showed a positive result. The predictive value positive (PVP) of the serologic test and the histopathologic test were both 100%. The PVP of the ocular test was 81.8% and that of the oral test was 66.7%. The PVP of the oral test was statistically different from that of the serologic and histopathologic tests. Our results strongly suggest that the diagnostic capability using the serologic test and the histopathologic test were superior to the oral test.