And none of the studies alone had a significant effect on the overall prevalence of sialorrhea after we eliminated each study separately in sensitivity analyses.ĬONCLUSIONS: Sialorrhea is a relatively common symptom in ALS patients with a comparatively high prevalence.
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According to the severity of sialorrhea, the prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe sialorrhea were 25.1%, 11.2%, and 10.5%, respectively. For studies using ALSFRS-R, direct questioning, postal survey, and ALSSoL average and ALSFRS-R, the pooled prevalence of sialorrhea was 22.7%, 25.8%, 29.8% and 52.0% respectively. The pooled prevalence of sialorrhea among ALS patients was 30.8% (95%CI: 20.0%-44.2%). RESULTS: 17 eligible studies which included 21 groups of data reported prevalence of sialorrhea. At the meantime, sensitivity analyses was also conducted to identify the source of heterogeneity. Subgroup analyses were performed based on screening instruments and severity of sialorrhea. We used AHRQ and NOS to evaluate the literature quality. METHODS: We searched PubMed and EMBASE databases to obtain the comprehensive literatures which reported the prevalence of sialorrhea. This study is aimed at conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of the pooled prevalence of sialorrhea in ALS patients all around the world and raising awareness of salivation. However, people do not pay attention to sialorrhea up to now. Online ahead of print.īACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative motor neuron disease (MND), and sialorrhea is a known symptom in patients with ALS, which may cause a social embarrassment and discomfort.