Abstract
BackgroundDiseases of the salivary glands are rare in infants and children (with the exception of diseases such as parotitis epidemica and cytomegaly) and the therapeutic regimen differs from that in adults. It is therefore all the more important to gain exact and extensive insight into general and special aspects of pathological changes of the salivary glands in these age groups. Etiology and pathogenesis of these entities is still not yet fully known for the age group in question so that general rules for treatment, based on clinical experience, cannot be given, particularly in view of the small number of cases of the different diseases. Swellings of the salivary glands may be caused by acute and chronic inflammatory processes, by autoimmune diseases, by duct translocation due to sialolithiasis, and by tumors of varying dignity. Clinical examination and diagnosis has also to differentiate between salivary gland cysts and inflammation or tumors.ConclusionSalivary gland diseases are rare in childhood and adolescence. Their pattern of incidence differs very much from that of adults. Acute and chronic sialadenitis not responding to conservative treatment requires an appropriate surgical approach. The rareness of salivary gland tumors is particularly true for the malignant parotid tumors which are more frequent in juvenile patients, a fact that has to be considered in diagnosis and therapy.
Highlights
Diseases of the salivary glands are rare in infants and children and the therapeutic regimen differs from that in adults
Previous studies [1,2,3] have dealt with the clinical distribution pattern of the various pathological entities in infants and older children. Important pathologies in these age groups are acute and chronic sialadenitis and secondary inflammation associated with sialolithiasis [2,4,5,6]
The etiology and pathogenesis of these entities in young patients, are still not yet sufficiently understood, so that therapeutic strategies based on extensive clinical experience cannot be defined, in view of the small number of patients in the
Summary
Salivary gland diseases are rare in infants and children. Acute and chronic sialadenitis not amenable to conservative therapy requires surgical treatment. The clinical course of chronic recurrent sialadenitis in children has a great potential for spontaneous healing, but in a number of cases it does not permit waiting for spontaneous healing until puberty but requires surgical intervention. As these diseases are rarer in young people than in adults, it is difficult to establish universally valid therapeutic guidelines. Rare in childhood and adolescence, differ in their incidence and dignity between juvenile and adult patients This is true of parotid malignancies which are more frequent in young persons. Authors’ contributions The authors issued the whole manuscript.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
