Benign recurrent parotitis of childhood: Experience in the diagnosis of the disease in a high complexity hospital in Latin America

Objectives: Benign recurrent parotitis of childhood (BRPC) is a clinically relevant disease in childhood. Its diagnosis, however, is usually not made due to the lack of knowledge regarding such a condition. The aim of this study is to describe the most relevant aspects of this condition and propose a simple therapeutic approach. Materials and Methods: We did a descriptive analysis of pediatric patients diagnosed with viral parotitis and BRPC between 2008 and 2018, at the Hospital Universitario San Ignacio in Bogotá, Colombia. Results: 41 patients with BRPC where included; 51.2% were female, with a mean age of 7.1 years. Thirty-two patients (78%) with diagnosis of BRPC underwent diagnostic imaging, despite the low rate of complications (19,5%). The diagnosis was made by otolaryngologists or pediatricians in 80% of the cases. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the study with the largest number of BRPC cases in Latin America. It is essential to know about this disease and take into ac-count its benign course and few complication rates, in order to avoid both wasting of resources in the use of unnecessary imaging and the overdiagnosis of mumps.