Abstract
Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical criteria for the diagnosis of hyposalivation in hospitalized patients. Material and Methods A clinical study was carried out on 145 subjects (48 males; 97 females; aged 20 to 90 years). Each subject was clinically examined, in the morning and in the afternoon, along 1 day. A focused anamnesis allowed identifying symptoms of hyposalivation, like xerostomia complaints (considered as a reference symptom), chewing difficulty, dysphagia and increased frequency of liquid intake. Afterwards, dryness of the mucosa of the cheecks and floor of the mouth, as well as salivary secretion during parotid gland stimulation were assessed during oral examination. Results Results obtained with Chi-square tests showed that 71 patients (48.9%) presented xerostomia complaints, with a significant correlation with all hyposalivation symptoms (p<0.05). Furthermore, xerostomia was also significantly correlated with all data obtained during oral examination in both periods of evaluation (p<0.05). Conclusion Clinical diagnosis of hyposalivation in hospitalized patients is feasible and can provide an immediate and appropriate therapy avoiding further problems and improving their quality of life.
Highlights
Et al.10 (2010) evaluated the prevalence of dry mouth and taste disturbance, salivary flow rate and oral mucosal lesions in institutionalized and non-institutionalized elderly and concluded that the institutionalized population LV VLJQL¿FDQWO\ PRUH DIIHFWHG E\ GU\ PRXWK DQG WDVWH GLVWXUEDQFH FRPSODLQWV GHFUHDVHG VDOLYDU\ ÀRZ UDWH and oral mucosal diseases when compared with the other group
Xerostomia is considered as a subjective complaint, the present study applied it as a reference symptom, considering its clinical relevance for hospitalized medically compromised patients
Fox, et al.9 (1987) considered the xerostomia subjective complaint as a valuable tool to identify patients who require additional salivary gland evaluation. This aspect becomes more important in hospitalized patients because, most often, they are taking several systemic drugs whose side effects can compromise the function of salivary glands
Summary
This study was approved by the Research Ethics &RPPLWWHH RI WKH 6FKRRO RI 'HQWLVWU\ 3RQWL¿FDO Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR), Brazil.The initial population consisted of 221 hospitalized patients, aged 20 to 90 years, admitted to two university hospitals from Curitiba, PR, Brazil, due to several medical reasons, between February and May 2008. This study was approved by the Research Ethics &RPPLWWHH RI WKH 6FKRRO RI 'HQWLVWU\ 3RQWL¿FDO Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR), Brazil. Are you aware of any recent increase in the frequency of liquid intake?. Clinical assessment including anamnesis and oral examination was performed by a single observer. Xerostomia complaints, considered as potential reference symptoms, were recorded followed by HYDOXDWLRQ RI FKHZLQJ DQG G\VSKDJLD GLI¿FXOWLHV RI dry foods and the increase in the frequency of liquid intake through anamnesis (Figure 1). The SUHVHQFH RI D VDOLYD SRRO DFFXPXODWHG RQ WKH ÀRRU of the mouth and salivary secretion during extraoral parotid glands stimulation by the palpation method, were assessed by oral inspection. Information concerning the symptoms of xerostomia, chewing, dysphagia and the increasing of liquid intake was obtained only in the morning
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