Abstract
Purpose: :
To use factor analysis to analyze 90 clinical characteristics of a cohort of 281 primary Sjogren’s syndrome (SS) patients.
Methods: :
The records of all patients seen at the Toronto Western Hospital Sjogren’s Syndrome Clinic from October, 1992 to July of 2006 were reviewed and documented. Those diagnosed as primary SS by the American European consensus criteria (AECC) of 2002 were included. The 90 clinical variables, including health history, complete blood analysis, symptoms of dry eye and dry mouth, salivary flow and biopsy, tear flow and staining, were analyzed by factor analysis.
Results: :
281 primary SS patient charts were reviewed and 90 variables were recorded. Factor analysis resulted in 3 factors: Factor 1: corneal staining, Factor 2: conjunctival staining and Factor 3: serum anti-Ro and anti- La.
Conclusions: :
Of the 90 variables observed in these SS patients, most surprisingly corneal fluorescein and conjunctival rose bengal staining appeared as separate, though complementary factors in the clinical presentation of SS. The presence of serum anti-Ro and anti-La was the third major factor. Interestingly, other important outcomes such as salivary characteristics and general health history did not appear as a factors in this primary SS cohort.
Keywords: cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye • conjunctiva