Estudio piloto sobre el diagnóstico y factores relacionados con la hiposialia en pacientes con xerostomía en una clínica universitaria

Abstract

Xerostomia is a subjective sensation of dry mouth that may or may not be accompanied by a decrease in the amount of saliva. Hyposialia is the reduction in salivary flow measured by a sialometry. The aim of the study was to define the total percentage of patients with true hyposialia in a group of patients with xerostomia and to analyze the differences between patients with xerostomia associated with hyposalia and patients with subjective xerostomia. 28 patients who referred xerostomia were part of the study between November and March 2020-2021 at the Polyclinic of the European University of Madrid. A comprehensive medical history was fulfilled, three questionnaires were completed: Xerostomia Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale, and OHIP14, and unstimulated sialometry was performed for five minutes. Data analysis was performed with the Stata IC v. 14. 82% of the total patients who reported dry mouth were women with a mean age of 59.14 years. Less than half of the patients (46%) had hyposialia as evidenced by sialometry. There were more patients with dental prostheses in the group suffering from hyposialia compared to the group with normal salivary flow. Both groups showed a similar number of xerostomizing diseases and drugs. Regarding the completed questionnaires, there was no significant difference in the results of both groups.