Juvenile recurrent chronic parotitis (JRCP) is a rare disease of unknown cause. There is a growing interest in its autoimmune aetiology and its relationship with dysfunctions of cellular and humoral immunity, although there is no agreed protocol for complementary investigations for its study. A consecutive series of cases is presented where the immune alterations and associated autoimmune disorders are investigated, proposing a study algorithm.
A retrospective study was carried out on patients who had JRCP during the period from 2013 to 2016 and a follow-up of at least 2 years. After its clinical and ultrasound diagnosis, complementary examinations were systematically carried out to investigate infectious, immune, and autoimmune diseases.
Of a total of 36 patients with inclusion criteria, 16 (44%) were found with some analytical alteration of a non-specific immunological nature (positive ANA, high IgG, low complement factor 4), or associated with a specific diagnosis, as occurred in 11 patients: Selective IgA deficiency (2), Sjögren's syndrome associated or not with systemic lupus erythematosus (3), coeliac disease associated or not with diabetes mellitus (4), Hashimoto's thyroiditis (1), and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (1).
Juvenile recurrent chronic parotitis can be considered a sentinel sign of other diseases of immunological/autoimmune aetiology for which the diagnosis, monitoring and early treatment can improve its prognosis. Viral infectious aetiology, with the exception of HIV, is not a priority in the study of recurrences.