Neonatal inflammatory submandibular sialadenitis associated with prenatal methyldopa exposure

Inflammation of a salivary gland is an uncommon condition in the neonatal period, and an isolated form of submandibular acute inflammatory sialadenitis is an exceptionally rare phenomenon. Among various conditions that might lead to submandibular acute inflammatory sialadenitis, maternal use of drugs during pregnancy should be questioned as there may be possible associations. Herein, we describe a late preterm infant who presented with a large submandibular mass. After excluding possible pathogenic causes, maternal use of methyldopa was believed to be the only factor associated with this condition. To the best of our knowledge, no such relationship has been documented in previously published literature.