quantitative assessment of salivary gland function by radioisotopic scanning in a randomized trial of pilocarpine for prevention of radiation induced xerostomia [persian]

introduction: radioisotope scanning is the best method for objective assessment of salivary gland function. thus, it was used in a randomized trial of concomitant pilocarpine for assessment of radiation-induced xerostomia, in addition to subjective evaluation by an approved questionnaire and objective standard xerostomia grading. methods: patients randomized in placebo-controlled trial of pilocarpine concurrent with irradiation for prevention of radiation-induced xerostomia were evaluated by salivary gland scintigraphy immediately before and 6 months after the end of head and neck radiotherapy. salivary gland function was measured by ejection fraction (ef) of technetium-99m pertechnetate. the mean values for pre and post-radiotherapy scans were calculated and compared. also post-radiotherapy scan findings in the two groups of pilocarpine and placebo were compared using the student’s t-test. in addition, comparison was made between the scan results and the subjective findings and objective gradings. results: twenty patients underwent the pre-radiotherapy salivary scintigraphy, and also 20 post-radiotherapy scans were performed. mean parotid ef was 60.85% in the pre-radiotherapy and 9.08% in the post-radiotherapy scans (p