Higher Olfactory Performance Associated with Self- Perceived Olfactory Function

What is the association between orthonasal olfaction and chemosensory perception in patients with smell loss?

Bottom Line: Higher orthonasal olfactory performance is associated with odds of higher self-perceived olfactory function (SO) in patients with olfactory dysfunction (OD), whereas the same is not true of flavor perception (SF).

Background: Reduced olfactory performance is a major complaint in patients with OD and can significantly impact quality of life, especially in areas related to food intake. When it comes to impaired flavor perception in these patients, however, literature on possible associations with measured orthonasal olfactory performance or demographical factors remains sparse.

Study Design: Group comparison, bivariate correlation, and ordinal logistic regression.

Setting: Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Synopsis: Researchers analyzed olfactory test results from 203 patients presenting with smell loss and a Sniffin’ Sticks threshold, discrimination, and identification (TDI) score below 31. Patients underwent structured anamnesis and nasal endoscopy and were assigned to six groups per smell loss etiology. Patients’ SO, taste (ST), and SF were assessed prior to testing, with age, gender, and reason as covariates. Results showed that higher TDI was associated with odds of higher SO; SO was substantially lower than SF in OD patients; and a low correlation existed between SF and olfactory test results in these patients. Overall, there was a significant difference between smell and flavor perception self-assessment in OD patients, who may complain about their sense of taste when they actually mean sense of smell. Findings suggest that demographic variables and causes of OD do not greatly influence SO in these patients. Limitations included a lack of retronasal test results due to time constraints in clinical practice.

Citation: Liu DT, Besser G, Prem B, et al. Association between orthonasal olfaction and chemosensory perception in patients with smell loss [published online ahead of print June 3, 2020]. Laryngoscope. doi:10.1002/lary.28773