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Journal of Peking University (Health Sciences) ›› 2026, Vol. 58 ›› Issue (1): 153-159. doi: 10.19723/j.issn.1671-167X.2026.01.020

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Demographic characteristic and clinical features in 1 812 patients with salivary gland stones

Yuting YANG, Liuyang QU, Danni ZHENG, Xiaotong LING, Xiaoyun XU, Denggao LIU*()   

  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & National Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Digital Medical Devices & Beijing Key Laboratory of Digital Stomatology & NHC Key Laboratory of Digital Stomatology & NMPA Key Laboratory for Dental Materials, Beijing 100081, China
  • Received:2025-07-22 Online:2026-02-18 Published:2025-11-28
  • Contact: Denggao LIU

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Abstract:

Objective: To analyze the demographic and clinical features of sialolithiasis based on a large sample size. Methods: Clinical and imaging data of patients with sialolithiasis treated at the Sialendoscopy Center of Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology from January 2020 to December 2024 were retrospectively collected. Patient demographics, disease duration, and affected glands were recorded. Moreover, the number, size, location, and long-to-short diameter ratio of the stones were mea-sured. Results: A total of 1 812 patients with salivary gland stones were collected, including 855 males and 957 females. The age range was 4 to 97 years [mean: (39.0±15.0) years] with a median disease duration of 6.0 months (interquartile range: 1.0-24.0). Most stones involved unilateral glands (98.4%), and 64.2% of the affected glands had a single stone. The stone size averaged at a diameter of (6.5±4.6) mm. The cases included 1 541 cases with submandibular gland (SMG) stones (85.0%), 267 cases with parotid gland (PG) stones (14.7%), and 4 cases affecting both SMG and PG. The SMG stones were mostly located in the extra-glandular main duct (50.2%), followed by the hilum (41.5%), and only 8.2% of them were in the intra-glandular area. The majority of PG stones (75.2%) were in the extra-glandular main duct. The average diameter of SMG stones was significantly larger than that of PG stones [(6.9±4.8) mm vs. (4.5±2.5) mm]. The average age of SMG patients was younger than that of PG patients [(38.0±15.0) years vs. (48.0±16.0) years]. There was no significant difference in recurrence rate between PG and SMG stones (3.4% vs. 2.1%). The recurrence intervals ranged from 2 months to 10 years, with an average of (33.8±31.4) months. In 21 patients (1.2%), the stones originated from foreign body calcification, which accounted for 0.6% (9/1 541) of SMG cases and 4.5% (12/267) of PG cases. Conclusion: Among the cases analyzed, sialolithiasis was the most common in middle-aged individuals, with no significant gender difference. Unilateral gland involvement was the most frequent, and 2/3 of the cases had a single stone. Significant differences were observed in the location, size, and patient age between SMG and PG stones. The recurrence rate of sialolithiasis was relatively low. Stones originated from foreign body calcification was occasionally seen. Understanding of these demographic and clinical characteristics provided a basis for clarifying the pathogenesis of sialolithiasis and optimizing the diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Key words: Salivary gland calculi, Parotid gland, Submandibular gland, Imaging characteristics

CLC Number: 

  • R781.75

Figure 1

Axial images of spiral CT showing the calculi in the parotid duct system A, calculus in the anterior segment of the left parotid duct; B, calculus in the middle segment of the right parotid duct; C, calculus at the hilum region of the right parotid duct; D, intraglandular calculus of the left parotid gland."

Figure 2

Axial images of spiral CT showing the calculi of the submandibular gland A, calculus in the anterior segment of the left submandibular gland duct; B, calculus in the middle segment of the left submandibular gland duct; C, calculus at the hilum region of the left submandibular gland; D, intraglandular calculus of the right submandibular gland."

Table 1

Clinical features of 1 808 patients with sialolithiasis"

Items Total (n=1 808)a Type of affected glandsP value
SMG PG
Number 1 808 1 541 267
Gender, n (%) 0.628
  Male 854 (47.2) 732 (47.5) 122 (45.7)
  Female 954 (52.8) 809 (52.5) 145 (54.3)
Age/years, $\bar x \pm s$ 39.0±15.0 38.0±15.0 48.0±16.0 ＜0.001
Duration of symptoms/month, M (P25, P75) 6.0 (1.0, 24.0) 6.0 (1.0, 24.0) 4.3 (1.0, 24.0) 0.302
Unilateral/Bilateral, n (%) 0.327
  Left 844 (46.7) 724 (47.0) 120 (44.9)
  Right 935 (51.7) 795 (51.6) 140 (52.4)
  Bilateral 29 (1.6) 22 (1.4) 7 (2.6)
Quantity, n (%) 0.062
  Single 1 162 (64.3) 974 (63.2) 188 (70.4)
  Multiple 621 (34.3) 545 (35.4) 76 (28.4)
  Recurrent 25 (1.4) 22 (1.4) 3 (1.1)
Location, n (%) ＜0.001
  Anterior duct 581 (32.1) 460 (29.8) 121 (45.3)
  Mid duct 394 (21.8) 315 (20.4) 79 (29.6)
  Glandular hilum 669 (37.0) 639 (41.5) 30 (11.2)
  Intraparenchymal 164 (9.1) 127 (8.2) 37 (13.9)
Mean maximum diameter/mm, $\bar x \pm s$ 6.5±4.6 6.9±4.8 4.5±2.5 ＜0.001
Long-to-short diameter ratio, $\bar x \pm s$ 1.6±1.0 1.6±0.9 1.7±1.1 0.007

Figure 3

Age distribution of 1 812 patients with sialolithiasis"

Figure 4

Distribution of the maximum diameters of the main calculi in 1 808 patients Lustmann classification: Ⅰ, 1-5 mm; Ⅱ, 6-10 mm; Ⅲ, 11-15 mm; Ⅳ, >15 mm. SMG, submandibular gland; PG, parotid gland."

Figure 5

Size of stones at different locations within the duct systems of submandibular and parotid glands (n=1 808) SMG, submandibular gland; PG, parotid gland."

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