Medical treatment of traumatic anosmia

Abstract

Objectives: To study the effects of zinc and steroid in the treatment of traumatic anosmia.

Study design: A prospective, randomized study.

Setting: Academic medical center.

Subjects and methods: Patients with a clear history of loss of smell after head injury and whose thresholds were -1 measured by the phenyl ethyl alcohol threshold test were included in this study from January 2010 to May 2013. They were randomly divided into 4 groups. Patients in group 1 were treated with zinc gluconate for a month and high-dose prednisolone with tapering for 2 weeks. Those in group 2 took only zinc gluconate, and those in group 3 took only prednisolone. Patients in group 4 did not take any medicine. All patients were followed up by phenyl ethyl alcohol threshold testing, and magnetic resonance imaging was performed to measure the volume of olfactory bulbs.

Results: Thirty-nine patients in group 1, 35 in group 2, 34 in group 3, and 37 in group 4 completed the study. The recovery of olfactory function was observed in 11 patients (28.2%) in group 1, in 9 (25.7%) in group 2, in 4 (11.8%) in group 3, and in 1 (2.7%) in group 4. The recovery rates of olfactory function of groups 1 and 2 were significantly higher than the recovery rate of group 4. The volume of olfactory bulbs was not significantly different between those with and without improved olfactory function.

Conclusion: Our results show that zinc gluconate has a promising effect in treating traumatic anosmia.

Keywords: olfactory bulb; phenyl ethyl alcohol test; prednisolone; traumatic anosmia; zinc.