Ultrasonographic Measurement of Parotid Gland at a Tertiary Care Centre of Nepal

Abstract

Introduction
The various parotid gland pathology can lead to change in size of the parotid gland. Normal parotid gland size determination is very important. Specifications about the normal size of parotid gland among Nepalese population is not available. This study was aimed to assess the normal range of parotid gland dimensions among the patients at a tertiary care centre of Nepal.

Methods
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 115 patients, in College of medical sciences, Bharatpur, Nepal. A convenience sampling method was used to collect the data. Patients who consented underwent ultrasonography of parotid glands. The data was entered into Microsoft Excel and transported to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16. Then the data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results
There were 115 patients who participated in the study. Among them, 29 (22.6%) were males and 86 (77.4%) were females. All the measurement of the left side of the parotid gland was more with the exception of depth lateral to the mandible in the right side. The depth of lateral to the mandible on the right side was 1.96±0.38 cms. The length of parotid gland of male was 3.79±0.43 cms while that of female was 3.12±0.56 cms. Overall measurement of male parotid gland was more than the female.

Conclusion
The present study concluded that except the depth lateral to the mandible, the measurement of left parotid gland was more than the right side.