Sialadenitis and Sialadenosis

In this chapter, the etiology and management of salivary gland inflammation (sialadenitis) and sialadenosis (sioalosis) are discussed. Causes of inflammatory disorders of the parotid gland include viral infections; bacterial infections; recurrent parotitis of childhood; papillary obstructive parotitis; granulomatous sialadenitis; autoimmune sialadenitis including Mickulicz disease, Sjogren's syndrome; and other autoimmune sialadenitis such as Wegener's granulomatosis, Kimura's disease, and chronic sclerosing sialadenitis. Sialadenosis is a chronic, diffuse, non-inflammatory, non-neoplastic disorder causing diffuse enlargement of salivary glands, usually the parotid glands. Grossly, there is only diffuse enlargement of the affected gland, and histologically, the condition is characterized by acinar hypertrophy and fatty infiltration. Patients present with painless, soft, and diffuse enlargement of both parotid glands. Treatment in the form of controlling the underlying disorder or withdrawing the incriminated drug helps sialosis to resolve.