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Background/purpose Sialolithiasis is the most common disease of the salivary glands, which can cause acute and chronic infections. More than 80% of sialoliths occur in the submandibular gland or its duct, 6% in the parotid gland, and 2% in the sublingual gland or minor salivary glands. Typical symptoms are recurrent swelling and pain in the involved gland, often associated with eating, due to obstructions of the draining duct. The aim of the study was to analyze biochemical structure, symptoms, size, and location of salivary stones as well as concomitance with nephrolithiasis. Materials and methods This study was conducted targeting 46 patients with sialolithiasis who visited the Department of Oral Surgery, Medical University of Lodz, Poland in 2009–2015. Medical records containing patients' age, sex, position of the salivary stone, and symptoms were collected and analyzed. Stones were examined ultrastructurally with a scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffractometer. Results Multiple stones were found in 1% of patients. We observed that men had sialolithiasis about twice as often as women. The chemical structure of the stones varied but they mainly contained different traces of carbon, calcium, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Longitudinal sections of the stones revealed elongated, round, and irregular shapes. We noticed that nephrolithiasis was present in 11 (24%) patients. We observed the unilateral location of sialoliths with multilayer structures, mainly composed of inorganic material, such as hydroxyapatite. Conclusion We found that the location of the stones influenced the symptoms, and concomitance of sialoliths and nephroliths was common.

Background There is a need for the performance of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) tests in the monitoring of childhood asthma control. We aimed to evaluate whether in children with atopic asthma, EIB can be predicted by one or more of the following parameters or by their combination: fractional exhaled nitric-oxide (FeNO), allergy profile, asthma treatment, total IgE serum concentration and eosinophil blood count (EBC). Methods It was a retrospective, cross-sectional study. We evaluated data from medical documentation of children with atopic asthma who had performed standardized spirometric exercise challenge test. Results One hundred and twenty six patients with atopic asthma, aged 5–18, were included in the analysis. There were two groups of patients: the EIB group (n = 54) and the no-EIB group (n = 72). The median FeNO level prior to exercise in the EIB group was 27.6 vs. 16.3 ppb in the no-EIB group (p = 0.002). FeNO level higher than 16 ppb had the highest diagnostic value to confirm EIB. When using the FeNO level of >16 ppb, the sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive and positive predictive values for EIB were 83%, 46.9%, 74.2%, and 60%, respectively. In the EIB group, the degree of FeNO elevation did correlate positively with the absolute fall in FEV1 (p = 0.002; r = 0.45). The FeNO value of >16 ppb, EBC value of >350 cell/mm3 and allergy to house dust mites presented the highest odds ratios of EIB. However, the FeNO value of >16 ppb was the only independent odds ratio of EIB. Conclusions Elevated FeNO level increased the odds of EIB in asthmatic schoolchildren, independently of other asthma severity markers and the intensity of anti-asthma therapy. It seems likely that FeNO measurement may act as a screening tool and help to prevent under-diagnosis and under-treatment of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in schoolchildren with atopic asthma.