Pilot study on the diagnosis of and factors related to hyposialia in patients with xerostomia at a university clinic

Resumen

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 a reduction in salivary flow, as measured by sialometry. The aims of the study were to establish the total percentage of patients with actual reduced saliva flow (hyposialia) in a group of patients with perceived reduced saliva flow (xerostomia) and analyse the differences between patients with xerostomia associated with hyposalia and patients with subjective xerostomia. 28 patients with 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 prepared, 3 questionnaires were completed (Xerostomia Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale and OHIP- 14) and unstimulated sialometry was performed for 5 minutes. Data analysis was performed with the Stata IC v 14 statistics program. 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 xerostomising disorders and drugs. There were no significant differences between either group regarding the completed questionnaires.