Objectives To describe our experience with primary and secondary Sjögren syndrome (SS) in the pediatric population and to evaluate the effectiveness of parotid gland biopsy in the diagnosis of pediatric SS.
Design Case series review of 6 pediatric patients evaluated during a 4-year period with varied head and neck manifestations of SS.
Setting Tertiary care children's hospital.
Patients Six children (4 boys and 2 girls) ranging in age from 6 to 12 years, who were diagnosed as having primary or secondary SS.
Intervention Six minor salivary gland and 4 parotid gland biopsies for pathologic examination.
Main Outcome Measures Pathologic examination of salivary tissue consistent with SS.
Results All 6 patients underwent minor salivary gland biopsy, 2 (33%) were consistent with SS, while the remaining 4 (67%) were nondiagnostic. The 4 patients with nondiagnostic minor salivary gland biopsy results went on to have parotid biopsies, of which all 4 had histologic findings consistent with SS. No complications were encountered.
Conclusion Parotid gland biopsy is an effective and safe means of obtaining salivary gland tissue for histologic evaluation of SS in the pediatric population.
