Management of obstructive salivary disorders by sialendoscopy: a systematic review

Our aim was to assess the effectiveness and safety of sialendoscopy as a diagnostic and therapeutic technique in the management of obstructive salivary disorders. We searched the following databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, The Cochrane Library, and the National Health Service Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (up to April 2014). References from the studies included and from review articles were scanned. A study was eligible for inclusion if it was a fully published peer-reviewed report with original data, if participants included adult patients with obstructive disease of the major salivary glands, if the outcome variables gave information about the success rates of the procedure in terms of freedom from symptoms and absence of residual obstruction, and if the paper was published in English, French, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish. The data were extracted and summarised in tables of evidence. We report weighted pooled proportions, 95% CI, and test results for heterogeneity. The weighted pooled proportion of success rates of the obstruction's resolution was 76% (95% CI 71 to 82) for 40 studies involving 2654 patients undergoing sialendoscopy alone, and 91% (95% CI 88 to 94) for the 23 studies and 1480 procedures made with sialendoscopy and a combined surgical approach. In general, few complications were reported and the rate of sialadenectomy was low (4.6%). This systematic review suggests that sialendoscopy is effective and safe for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with obstructive salivary gland disease.