ArticleBMC oral health2026
Minor salivary flow as a diagnostic tool for screening hyposalivation in Medication-Induced Xerostomia.
Article in BMC oral health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Photobiomodulation for salivary gland dysfunction: aligning clinical expectations with etiology-dependent treatment responsiveness.Lasers in medical science · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWe aimed to determine whether minor salivary flow (MSF) rate, measured via a rapid paper-based test, can serve as a reliable screening tool for detecting hyposalivation. This study, conducted in a real-world clinical setting, evaluated the diagnostic performance of MSF against unstimulated whole saliva (UWS) as the reference standard in individuals experiencing xerostomia due to medications.
methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of 135 adults aged 45-64 years with xerostomia and ongoing anticholinergic medication use. MSF was measured using a one-minute Shrimer strip placed in the upper labial vestibule, and reliability was assessed via triplicate measurements in a subsample (n = 40). UWS flow was used as the reference standard for reduced (hyposalivation) saliva secretion. The diagnostic performance of MSF was analyzed using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves, and multivariable logistic regression assessed its predictive utility after adjusting for demographic and clinical covariates.
resultsMSF demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.94) and strong inter-replicate agreement (r = 0.83-0.87). Participants with hypo ratetion had significantly lower MSF than those without (mean difference = 2.41 µL/cm²/min, p < 0.001). At an optimal MSF cutoff, sensitivity was 80.0% and specificity was 54.5% (with Area Under the Curve; AUC = 0.726). In multivariable models, MSF and xerostomia severity were independent predictors of hyposalivation, with an overall model AUC of 0.827.
conclusionMSF, measured using a simple, non-invasive method, is a reliable and moderately accurate screening tool for identifying hyposalivation in adults with medication-induced xerostomia. These findings support its use in clinical settings; however, further refinement and validation are necessary to establish diagnostic thresholds and determine its applicability.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.