[Differential diagnosis of salivary disturbances by quantitative scintigraphy]

The scintigraphy of salivary glands with technetium-99m pertechnetate is predisposed to be an excellent test for evaluating salivary gland function. But the absence of a sufficiently precise and simple quantitative analysis procedure of the technetium uptake has reduced its clinical use. For this reason, the authors propose a new and quick method: the quantitative salivary gland scintigraphy. With an uptake index (ratio of technetium uptake between the glandular tissue and a cervical reference) they get precise quantitative information on functional activity. Among other applications, the test allows to make within a few minutes, in a case of xerostomia, the differential diagnosis between Sjäogren syndrome and sialosis.