Suggest Treatment For Sjogren's Syndrome

Posted on Wed, 21 Jun 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 22 Jun 2017 Answered on

Wed, 12 Jul 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : Dear Dr Naval
I am interested to know if my blood tests for Sjrongs Syndrome have come up negative then is that the end of it. No Sjrongs. I have been told by my Ophthalmologist that these days blood tests are all that they need. That Rheumatologists don’t do biopsies anymore to prove Sjrongs.
Can you confirm this ?
Thanks

Answered by Dr. Naval Mendiratta (18 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Blood test in Sjogrens

Detailed Answer:
Good evening there

Well, that s not entirely true. Blood tests come positive in only 60-70 % of the cases...And rest needs to be either strong clinical symptoms which match the group or a biopsy evidence. Infact, biopsy is one of the main criteria for diagnosis Sjgorens.

Secondly, if it is not sjogrens and there are still symptoms, then again biopsy is helpful to see which other cause could be causing such symptoms. So, I m not sure why the opthamologist is reluctant to biopsy as eventually we do need some clue to confirm your diagnosis

Do let me know for more queries
Regards
Dr naval

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Kampana