Objectives/hypothesis: Olfactory dysfunction is common among the general population, with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) as one of the leading causes. Patients affected by CRS often report changes in taste sensations; however, quantitative measurements have not been performed to date. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate gustatory and olfactory function in CRS patients prior to and after multimodal treatment.
Study design: Prospective cohort study.
Methods: Twenty-one patients suffering from CRS with nasal polyps (14 male, seven female) with a mean age of 48 ± 15 years were included in the study. Chemosensory function was assessed prior to and approximately 190 days after multimodal treatment, which included endoscopic sinus surgery, oral antibiotics for 5 days, oral steroids for 12 days, and at least 6 weeks of topical nasal steroids. Olfactory function was tested with the Sniffin' Sticks test battery, whereas gustatory function was measured with taste strips. A clinically relevant change in olfactory function was defined as a change of ≥5 points in the threshold, discrimination, and identification scores.
Results: Compared to normative data, patients baseline gustatory and olfactory function was impaired. After multimodal treatment, improvements were seen in olfactory function for eight patients (42%), remained stable in 10 patients (53%), and deteriorated in one patient (5%). Taste function remained unchanged following sinus surgery.
Conclusions: Patients suffering from CRS with polyps exhibit olfactory and taste dysfunctions. Multimodal treatment leads to an improvement in olfactory, but not gustatory functionality.
Level of evidence: 4. Laryngoscope, 128:E86-E90, 2018.
Keywords: Chronic rhinosinusitis; endoscopic sinus surgery; nasal polyps; olfaction; taste.
© 2017 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.