Standardised form used to assess the reliability of ultrasound of salivary gland core items of the images
| Parotid glands | Submandibular glands | |||
| Right | Left | Right | Left | |
| Echogenicity | ||||
| Normal, (0); Abnormal (fibrosis), 1 | ||||
| Homogeneity | ||||
| Normal, 0; Abnormal, 1 | ||||
| Hyperechoic bands | ||||
| None (0), <50% of the parenchyma (1), ≥50% (2) | ||||
| Number of hypoechoic/anechoic areas* | ||||
| Size of the largest hypoechoic/anechoic area (mm)* | ||||
| Location of the hypoechoic/anechoic areas in the gland | ||||
| None (0), isolated (<25% of the surface area) (1), localised (25%–50%) (2), scattered (>50%) (3), diffused (4) | ||||
| Number of abnormal lymph nodes in the glands* | ||||
| Presence of normal lymph nodes at the upper and/or lower poles of the parotid glands: no (0), yes (1) | ||||
| Calcifications | ||||
| No (0), yes (1) | ||||
| Posterior border visible | ||||
| No (0), yes (1) | ||||
| Diagnosis advice of pSS based on the seven items | ||||
| ruled out (0), indeterminate (1), ruled in (2) | ||||
*Quantitative variables were then categorised as follows: number of hypoechoic/anechoic areas: None (0), 1–4 (1), ≥5 (2); size of the largest area: None (0), ≤2 (1), >2 (2); abnormal lymph nodes: No (0), Yes (1).
pSS, primary Sjögren’s syndrome.