The clinical efficacy of artificial saliva using four point ordinal scale and visual analogue scale in patients of sjogrens syndrome with xerostomia

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of artificial saliva for relief of xerostomia in patients with Sjogrens syndrome. Place/duration of study: This is a quasi-experimental trial of 6 months’ duration from 1st October 2019 till 30th march 2020 conducted at Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi. Patients and methods: We enrolled 50 patients with xerostomia due to Sjogrens syndrome. The clinical efficacy of Xerostomia was evaluated by means of a patient reported score on a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS) and assessment of the oral tissue condition by means of a 4-point ordinal scale at 0, 2, 4 and 6 weeks. Mean ± standard deviation of quantitative variables was calculated and level of significance was determined using paired-t-test. An improvement in xerostomia was measured by comparing patient reported VAS and a physician recorded 4-point ordinal score at baseline, 2nd, 4th and 6th week. Results: All of the patients were female with a mean age (years ± SD) of 48.48 ± 10.8.Four-point ordinal score at screening visit was 25.30 ± 5.21(mean ± SD) whereas patient VAS was 57.92 ± 12.03 (mean ± SD). The mean change in both four-point ordinal score and patients VAS was statistically significant at 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 6 weeks (p value 0.000 in each). It was well tolerated in most of the patients (only 7 patients discontinued ;5 due to mucositis ,1 due to respiratory tract infection and one had mouth bleed due to dental issues). Conclusions: Artificial saliva is a safe and efficacious option for patients with xerostomia.