Salivary Gland Swellings: A Retrospective Study of Cytological Findings

Introduction: Salivary gland disorders can arise from infection, inflammation, cystic changes, degenerative process and neoplastic etiologies. Most common conditions of salivary gland disease result from acute infection and inflammation. These swellings can usually be diagnosed clinically. Reports of salivary gland tumours are also on the rise, with one study revealing the incidence to be 6% of all head and neck tumors. Materials and methods: Retrospective analysis of salivary gland swellings, diagnosed by fine needle aspiration cytology from Kartik 2072 to Chaitra 2074, was done. Result: The most common age group with manifestation of salivary gland pathology was 11-20 years (19.4%). Non neoplastic swellings comprised 56% of the cases, while the rest comprised of neoplastic swellings. Conclusion: Chronic infection and pleomorphic adenoma were the most common diseases involving salivary glands are, among nonneoplastic and neoplastic group respectively