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Postinfectious olfactory loss: A retrospective study on 791 patients
Author(s) -
Cavazzana Annachiara,
Larsson Maria,
Münch Marcus,
Hähner Antje,
Hummel Thomas
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1002/lary.26606
Subject(s) - odor , retrospective cohort study , medicine , olfactory system , olfaction , cohort , biology , psychiatry , neuroscience
Objectives/Hypothesis Postinfectious olfactory loss is among the most common causes of olfactory impairment and has substantial negative impact on patients' quality of life. Recovery rates have been shown to spontaneously improve in most of patients, usually within 2 to 3 years. However, existing studies are limited by small sample sizes and short follow‐up. We aimed to assess the prognostic factors for recovery in a large sample of 791 patients with postinfectious olfactory disorders. Study Design Retrospective cohort. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of 791 patients with postinfectious olfactory loss. Olfactory functions were assessed using the Sniffin' Sticks test at the first and final visits (mean follow‐up = 1.94 years). Results Smell test scores improved over time. In particular, patient's age and the odor threshold (T), odor discrimination (D), and odor identification (I) (TDI) score at first visit were significant predictors of the extent of change. The percentage of anosmic and hyposmic patients exhibiting clinically significant improvement was 46% and 35%, respectively. Conclusions This study provides new evidence within the postinfectious olfactory loss literature, shedding light on the prognostic factors and showing that recovery of olfactory function is very frequent, even many years after the infection. Level of Evidence 4. Laryngoscope , 128:10–15, 2018