Objective: To investigate whether a new clinical olfactory test, the Odor Stick Identification Test for Japanese (OSIT-J), can be used to assess olfactory function cross-culturally in a US patient population.
Design: Cross-sectional prospective study.
Setting: A university medical center otolaryngology clinic.
Patients: Fifty US patients presenting with complaints of olfactory dysfunction from December 2004 to January 2006.
Interventions: Olfactory testing and patient interview.
Main outcome measures: Comparison of test results obtained with the OSIT-J, the Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center (CCCRC) olfactory function test, and patients' self-reported level of olfactory function. Patients' opinions regarding the 2 test methods were also recorded.
Results: The mean +/- SD time required to administer the OSIT-J (8 +/- 1 minutes) was shorter than that required for the standard CCCRC test (21 +/- 6 minutes). Significant Spearman rank correlations were found between the OSIT-J and CCCRC test scores (r(s) = 0.80, P<.001, n = 50), and patients' self-reported level of olfactory function (r(s) = 0.73, P<.001, n = 50). Although 3 of the 13 odors used in the OSIT-J were not familiar to US subjects, patients reported that the OSIT-J was easier, more interesting, and the odors used more pleasant than the CCCRC test.
Conclusions: Olfactory function tests developed in different countries should be evaluated to determine if a cross-cultural bias exists among test odorants. Although a cultural bias was detected for a few odorants, this study demonstrates that a modified version of the OSIT-J can be used to assess olfactory function in US patients.