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Sjögren's syndrome in children with recurrent parotitis
Breanne L Schiffer1, Sara M Stern2, Albert H Park1
1University of Utah, Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Insights
Pediatric Sjögren
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Rheumatology and Otolaryngology
Background:
- Recurrent parotitis in children can be a symptom of underlying autoimmune conditions.
- Early diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome is crucial for effective management and preventing complications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To optimize the diagnostic approach for pediatric Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) in children presenting with parotitis.
- To evaluate the utility of existing diagnostic criteria in this pediatric population.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 20 pediatric patients with recurrent parotitis.
- Analysis of presenting symptoms, serological markers, sialendoscopy findings, and minor salivary gland biopsy results.
Main Results:
- 10% of patients met the adult American-European Consensus Group criteria for Sjögren's syndrome.
- 40% met the diagnosis using Bartunkova's proposed pediatric criteria, highlighting a higher prevalence with pediatric-specific guidelines.
- Recurrent parotitis is a significant indicator for potential Sjögren's syndrome in children.
Conclusions:
- Sjögren's syndrome is more common in pediatric patients with recurrent parotitis than previously recognized.
- Pediatric otolaryngologists should maintain a high index of suspicion for Sjögren's syndrome in these cases.
- Utilizing pediatric-specific diagnostic criteria improves the detection rate of Sjögren's syndrome in children.
Objective:
Optimize the diagnosis of pediatric Sjögren's syndrome in children who present with parotitis.
Methods:
Twenty children presented to a pediatric otolaryngology or rheumatology clinic with recurrent parotitis. Presenting symptoms, serologies, sialendoscopy findings, and minor salivary gland biopsy pathology results were reviewed.
Results:
Twenty patients aged 3-17 years presented with recurrent parotitis. Ten percent of this cohort met the American-European Consensus Group adult diagnostic criteria for Sjögren's syndrome. Forty percent of this cohort met diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome when utilizing Bartunkova's proposed pediatric criteria for diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome.
Conclusion:
Sjögren's syndrome is surprisingly common in pediatric patients who present with recurrent parotitis. Otolaryngologists who treat pediatric parotitis should have a high index of suspicion for Sjögren's syndrome.
Level Of Evidence:
4.
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