Enlargement of Parotid Gland Due to Sarcoidosis

Abstract

Of 388 patients with histologically confirmed generalized sarcoidosis 23 (6%) had enlargement of the parotid gland. It was bilateral in 19, right-sided in three, and left-sided in one. The onset was most commonly in the third or fourth decade, affecting women in 13 instances. There was widespread involvement of other tissue systems, particularly lungs, lymph nodes and spleen, uveal tract, and lacrimal glands. Sarcoid tissue was obtained from several of these tissues. The Kveim test was positive in 77% and the Mantoux test negative in 81%. The enlargement of the parotid gland subsided within six months in 10 patients, but persisted for varying periods up to three years in the remainder. Corticosteroids seemed unnecessary in the transient group and provided no clear-cut benefit in the chronic persistent type of enlargement of the parotid gland. © 1964, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.