Objective: To determine the impact of nasal trauma with and without the potential to produce nasal fracture on the olfactory function.
Study design: A descriptive analytical study.
Place and duration of study: Ear, Nose, Throat Clinic, Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital, Ankara from October 2018 to June 2019.
Methodology: The study included patients with nasal trauma and control subjects. The patients with nasal trauma were divided into two groups as fracture group (Group F, n=83) and non-fracture group (Group Non-F, n=30). The Group F was further divided into two subgroups according the presence as septal fracture as Group SF (patients with septal fracture) and Group Non-SF (patients with non-septal fracture). The smell functions of all participants were evaluated using the Sniffin' Sticks test. The odour scores of Group F and Group Non-F were compared versus control group, using the independent sample t-test or Mann-Whitney U-test. Percentage of patients with olfactory dysfunction was compared between Group F and Group Non-F and between Group SF and Group Non-SF using the Chi-square test.
Results: There were a total of 113 participants with mean age of 35.64±10.44 years. The median TDI score of Group F was significantly lower in comparison to control group, no significant difference was found between Group Non-F and control group in terms of median TDI score. There was a significant difference between Group F and Group Non-F in terms of the percentage of patients with olfactory dysfunction. No significant difference was found between Group F and Group Non-F with respect to the percentage of patients with olfactory dysfunction.
Conclusion: Nasal trauma can lead to olfactory dysfunction only if it has the potential to produce a nasal fracture. Key Words: Smell disorders, Nasal bone, Bone fractures, Trauma.