Juvenile recurrent parotitis: clinical, sialographic and ultrasonographic features.

OBJECTIVE

Juvenile recurrent parotitis (JRP) is a rare salivary gland disease of obscure aetiology that affects children. The aim of this study was to investigate the patterns of clinical presentation, and the sialographic and ultrasonographic features of JRP in Sri Lankan children.

METHODS

The authors analysed the hospital records of 26 subjects who had been diagnosed with JRP between January 2003 and April 2006.

RESULTS

The subjects consisted of 15 males and 11 females (male:female ratio=1.4:1). The age range of the sample was 2.5-16 years (mean=8.4 years). The age of onset was biphasic, with two major peaks at 6 years (n=6) and 10 years (n=5) (mean=6.73 years). Unilateral involvement was seen in 69.2% of patients. The commonest clinical features were swelling (100%), pain (80.8%) and fever (50.0%). The average frequency of recurrences of JRP in 18 patients was 7.1 times per year. The average duration of an individual episode, also in 18 patients, was 5.44 days. Sialography in 17 patients had revealed punctate sialectasis, whereas ultrasonography in 16 patients had demonstrated multiple hypoechoic areas and heterogeneous echoes

CONCLUSIONS

This study documents the clinical features of JRP in Sri Lankan children. It has established the usefulness of sialography and ultrasonography in the diagnosis of JRP.