Etiology of Pneumoparotid: A Systematic Review

Pneumoparotid describes retrogradely insufflated air within the Stensen’s duct and/or parotid gland. It is a rare condition with variable causative factors. This study aimed to elucidate the clinical characteristics of pneumoparotid. Reports in all languages were evaluated following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement 2020. A literature search was conducted using electronic medical databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO, Ovid, Google Scholar, SciElo, LILIACS, and others) from 1890 to 30 June 2022. One hundred and seventy patients (mean age; 28.4 years) from 126 studies were reviewed. Common symptoms included swelling (84.7%) and pain (35.9%). Characteristic findings were crepitus in the parotid region (40%) and frothy saliva from the orifice (39.4%). The common etiologies included abnormal habits such as blowing out the cheeks (23.5%), idiopathic (20%), self-induced (15.9%), playing wind instruments such as trumpets or flutes (8.8%), and diseases inducing coughing or sneezing (8.2%). The treatments included antibiotic therapy (30%), behavioral therapy to avoid continuing causative habits (25.9%), psychiatric therapy (8.2%), and surgical procedures (8.2%). Treatment should be individualized and etiology-based. However, the etiology was not identified in 20% of patients. Further detailed data from larger samples are required to clarify and improve the recognition of this entity.