Newly Diagnosed Sjogren Syndrome in an Elderly Patient on Dialysis: A Case Report

Abstract

Sjogren syndrome (SS) is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease that primarily affects the exocrine glands, causing dry eyes and mouth, but also presents with a variety of other symptoms. SS is a common connective tissue disease but it can be difficult to diagnose due to the non-specific symptoms and lack of diagnostic markers in many cases. This report describes a case of an elderly patient on dialysis with newly diagnosed SS. The patient had been unable to eat a normal diet for a year, but treatment had not been initiated, presumably because of his age and the fact that he was on dialysis. The patient's symptoms improved with the administration of glucocorticoids. This is a very educational case for physicians to recognize undiagnosed SS patients presenting with non-specific symptoms.

Keywords: elderly people; glucocorticoid therapy; maintenance hemodialysis; primary sjogren’s syndrome; systemic autoimmune disease.

Figure 1. Low-power view showing salivary gland lobules with lymphocytic infiltration and partial fibrosis.

Figure 2. High-power view showing the ductal cells of the salivary gland characteristically surrounded by lymphocytic cells and plasma cells.