Candida parotitis with abscess formation.

This report describes the case of an elderly, diabetic man who developed acute suppurative parotitis with abscess formation. The causative agent of parotid abscess was Candida albicans, which is an unusual cause of salivary gland pathology. The parotid gland is the salivary gland most commonly affected by inflammation. Acute parotitis occurs most often in elderly patients who are debilitated by systemic disease or are in a state of dehydration following major surgical procedures. Despite the high prevalence of oral candida carriage, there have been few previous reports of candida sialoadenitis in the literature. This is due to the toxicity of saliva to fungi under normal conditions. The diagnosis of candidiasis in our patient was made by culturing the purulent discharge from Stensen's duct and by culture of the pus obtained at surgical drainage of the abscess. After incision and drainage, the patient was treated with intravenous and then oral fluconazole for a total of 4 weeks with complete resolution of his condition. This case is interesting in light of recent and ongoing investigations of salivary proteins as potential new antifungal agents.