The Effects of Olfactory Training with Intranasal Corticosteroid Spray in Korean Patients with Olfactory Dysfunction

Characteristics of Smell Identification Test in Patients With Parkinson Disease

OBJECTIVES: Parkinson disease (PD) is frequently associated with olfactory disorder at early stage, which is caused by deposition of Lewy bodies emerging from the olfactory bulb to higher olfactory centers. Early detection of olfactory disorder in the patients with PD may lead to the early diagnosis and treatment for this refractory disease. METHODS: Visual analog scale (VAS), Jet Stream Olfactometry, and Japanese smell identification test, Open Essence (OE), were carried out on 39 patients with PD. Thirty-one patients with postviral olfactory disorder (PVOD), which was caused by the olfactory mucosal dysfunction, were also enrolled in this study as control. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in detection thresholds (2.2 vs. 1.4, P=0.13), recognition thresholds (3.9 vs. 3.5, P=0.39) and OE (4.8 vs. 4.2, P=0.47) between PVOD and PD, while VAS scores of PVOD and PD were significantly different (2.0 and 6.2, P<0.01). In OE, significant differences were observed in the accuracy rates of menthol (68% vs. 44%, P=0.04) and Indian ink (42% vs. 15%, P=0.01) between PVOD and PD. Of particular interest, patients with PVOD tended to select “no detectable,” while patients with PD tended to select wrong alternative other than “no smell detected.” CONCLUSION: Discrepancy between VAS and OE, and high selected rates of wrong alternative other than “undetectable” in OE might be significant signs of olfactory dysfunction associated with PD.

Diagnosis and Management of Dry Cough: Focus on Upper Airway Cough Syndrome and Postinfectious Cough.

Cough is an important complaint of respiratory disease and normal defense mechanism of the lungs. It helps in clearing excessive secretions, fluids, infections or foreign material from the airway. In most of the cases, cough occurs as part of a brief, self-limiting illness. However, it can become a persistent symptom in several cases. The etiology of cough is very diverse and commonly includes environmental causes (cigarette smoke, pollutants, dust mites, etc.) and several disease entities, including both respiratory and nonrespiratory causes. Postnasal drip syndrome and postinfectious cough are the most common respiratory causes of chronic cough. The objective of this article is to highlight the importance and consequences of cough and discuss the effective diagnosis and management of upper airway cough syndrome and postinfectious cough. For this article, PUBMED was searched for studies and guidelines published in the English language using the medical subject heading terms cough, causes of cough, etiology of cough, postinfectious cough, post-viral cough, upper airway cough syndrome, and postnasal drip.

A Case of Postviral Gastroparesis in a 7-year-old Boy / 대한소아소화기영양학회지

Gastroparesis is rare in children and is defined as delayed emptying of gastric contents into the duodenum without mechanical obstruction. We experienced a case of gastroparesis in a 7-year-old boy after a viral illness. He was admitted because of excessive abdominal bloating and diffuse abdominal pain, and was diagnosed by clinical manifestations and measurement of the gastric emtpyting time. He recovered after dietary management and with commbined medication of erythromycin and domperidone in 50 days of illness.