Specialty: ENT
Age group: Adult
Direct to an appropriate emergency department for:
- Salivary abscess associated with:
- swelling in the neck
- difficulty in breathing.
Immediately contact the ENT registrar to arrange an urgent ENT assessment for:
- Acute salivary gland inflammation unresponsive to treatment
- Sialadenitis in immunocompromised patients, or facial nerve palsy.
Criteria for referral to public hospital specialist clinic services
- Confirmed or suspected tumour or solid mass in the salivary gland
- Symptomatic salivary stones with recurrent symptoms unresponsive to treatment.
Information to be included in the referral
Information that must be provided:
- History of symptoms
- Location of site(s) of mass
- History of skin cancers removed
- History of smoking.
Provide if available:
- Ultrasound results
- CT scan results.
Additional comments
The Summary and referral information lists the information that should be included in a referral request.
Referrals for patients with mumps or patients with HIV with bilateral symptoms should be directed to an infectious disease service.
Referrals for patients with Sjogren’s syndrome should be directed to a rheumatology service.
Where appropriate and available, the referral may be directed to an alternative specialist clinic or service.
Referral to a public hospital is not appropriate for
Not applicable.
Reviewed 27 May 2025