[Demographic characteristic and clinical features in 1 812 patients with salivary gland stones]

To analyze the demographic and clinical features of sialolithiasis based on a large sample size.

Clinical and imaging data of patients with sialolithiasis treated at the Sialendoscopy Center of Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology from January 2020 to December 2024 were retrospectively collected. Patient demographics, disease duration, and affected glands were recorded. Moreover, the number, size, location, and long-to-short diameter ratio of the stones were mea-sured.

A total of 1 812 patients with salivary gland stones were collected, including 855 males and 957 females. The age range was 4 to 97 years [mean: (39.0±15.0) years] with a median disease duration of 6.0 months (interquartile range: 1.0-24.0). Most stones involved unilateral glands (98.4%), and 64.2% of the affected glands had a single stone. The stone size averaged at a diameter of (6.5±4.6) mm. The cases included 1 541 cases with submandibular gland (SMG) stones (85.0%), 267 cases with parotid gland (PG) stones (14.7%), and 4 cases affecting both SMG and PG. The SMG stones were mostly located in the extra-glandular main duct (50.2%), followed by the hilum (41.5%), and only 8.2% of them were in the intra-glandular area. The majority of PG stones (75.2%) were in the extra-glandular main duct. The average diameter of SMG stones was significantly larger than that of PG stones [(6.9±4.8) mm vs. (4.5±2.5) mm]. The average age of SMG patients was younger than that of PG patients [(38.0±15.0) years vs. (48.0±16.0) years]. There was no significant difference in recurrence rate between PG and SMG stones (3.4% vs. 2.1%). The recurrence intervals ranged from 2 months to 10 years, with an average of (33.8±31.4) months. In 21 patients (1.2%), the stones originated from foreign body calcification, which accounted for 0.6% (9/1 541) of SMG cases and 4.5% (12/267) of PG cases.

Among the cases analyzed, sialolithiasis was the most common in middle-aged individuals, with no significant gender difference. Unilateral gland involvement was the most frequent, and 2/3 of the cases had a single stone. Significant differences were observed in the location, size, and patient age between SMG and PG stones. The recurrence rate of sialolithiasis was relatively low. Stones originated from foreign body calcification was occasionally seen. Understanding of these demographic and clinical characteristics provided a basis for clarifying the pathogenesis of sialolithiasis and optimizing the diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.