Sjögren's syndrome in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis

✍ Scribed by Epaminondas V. Tsianos; Jay H. Hoofnagle; Philip C. Fox; Margaret Alspaugh; E. Anthony Jones; Daniel F. Schafer; Haralampos M. Moutsopoulos

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 509 KB
• Volume: 11
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0270-9139
• DOI: 10.1002/hep.1840110504

✦ Synopsis

Symptomatology and objective findings of Sjogren's syndrome were evaluated in 38 consecutive patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. Symptoms of Sjogren's syndrome were present in 18 (47.4%) patients, but were severe enough to warrant therapy in only four (10.6%). Nineteen patients consented to evaluation for Sjogren's syndrome, which included Schirmer's I test, measurement of parotid flow rate and serum autoantibodies, labial minor salivary gland biopsy and human leukocyte antigen typing. Histological changes diagnostic of Sjogren's syndrome were present in five patients (26.3%). All five patients had symptoms of Sjogren's syndrome and three had abnormal Schirmer's I tests, but none had corneal ulcerations or decreased parotid flow rates. Results of serological tests and human leukocyte antigen typing were not similar to those described in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome but were similar to those described in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome. These findings indicate that Sjogren's syn- drome associated with primary biliary cirrhosis is a form of secondary Sjogren's syndrome resembling that associated with rheumatoid arthritis. (HEPATOLOGY 1990;11:730-734.)