Standardization of minor salivary gland biopsy interpretation in Sjögren’s disease: using the 2017 EULAR recommendations: a monocentric study

Clicks: 1
ID: 318742
2026
Free PDF
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal

Ranked #199 of 202 articles by views in Lara D. Veeken

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 202 in total.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To assess the inter- and intrarater reliability of minor salivary gland biopsy (MSGB) interpretation for the evaluation of Sjögren's disease (SjD), in accordance with the 2017 EULAR recommendations. METHODS: The reproducibility of MSGB findings in patients with suspected SjD was analysed by two pathologists. For intrarater reliability, expert examiner A (ExA) evaluated 196 slides twice, with a two-month interval, following a standardised blinded protocol. For Inter-rater reliability, ExA's initial assessment was compared with that of the routine service pathologists (ExR) and with expert examiner B (ExB), who independently evaluated a random subset of 115 slides. Agreement for qualitative variables was assessed using Cohen's kappa coefficient (κ), and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated for quantitative measures. RESULTS: Inter- and intrarater analyses demonstrated substancial to almost perfect agreement (κ ≥ 0.6) for glandular area, dichotomised focus score (FS ≥ 1 or < 1), and the diagnosis of focal lymphocytic sialadenitis (FLS). In contrast, agreement for structural damage assessment was only moderate to fair (κ ≤ 0.4) across both analyses. The ICC for FS indicated good reliability (≥ 0.61) between ExR and ExA, and almost perfect reliability (ICC≥ 0.76) between ExA and ExB, as well as within ExA's intrarater comparison. CONCLUSION: Inter- and intrarater reliability for diagnosing FLS and determining FS is good, whereas reliability for grading structural damage remains limited. This discrepancy may reflect less consistent training and criteria for assessing tissue damage compared with inflammatory features. Improving MSGB reproducibility will require stronger standardisation of histopathological procedures and enhanced pathologist training.
Reference Key
openalex_W7165960723 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Clarice Garcia Valadares Xavier, Débora Cerqueira Calderaro, Stanley de Almeida Araújo, Leandro Augusto Tanure, Wanderley Dm, Gustavo Gomes Resende, Gilda Aparecida Ferreira
Journal Lara D. Veeken
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/rheumatology/keag333
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keag333
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.