[Labial salivary gland biopsy in Sjögren's syndrome]

In the majority of cases, autoimmune sialadenitis is a feature of Sjögren's syndrome. This systemic autoimmune disease is, therefore, clinically characterised by sicca symptoms such as xerostomia and keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Since autoimmune sialadenitis affects major as well as minor salivary glands, histopathological examination is almost always carried out using labial salivary gland biopsies. A positive histopathological result is determined as a focal lymphocytic sialadenitis with at least one aggregate of 50 or more lymphocytes and histiocytes per 4 mm2 of salivary gland tissue. As one out of four objective findings, focus scoring belongs to the classification criteria for Sjögren's syndrome according to the American-European consensus group.