Clinical examination of olfactory and gustatory function / 临床耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE@#To explore changes of olfactory and gustatory functions in patients with olfactory dysfunction.@*METHOD@#The 284 study subjects included 92 healthy volunteers, 92 with hyposmia and 100 with functional anosmia. Their olfactory and gustatory functions were examined using T&T olfactometer, olfactory event-related potentials (OERPs) and triple drop method, respectively.@*RESULT@#The T&T results showed that the difference between patients with hyposmia and functional anosmia and healthy subjects had statistical significance. The OERPs results showed that patients with olfactory dysfunction had N1 and P2 waves of prolonged latency and reduced amplitude when compared to healthy subjects with the difference of statistical significance. When compared to healthy subjects, patients with olfactory dysfunction had clear hypogeusia and the difference had statistical significance. There was no significant difference between female and male groups.@*CONCLUSION@#It is suggested that the apparently concomitant hypogeusia is in patients with olfactory dysfunction. Decreased of olfactory and gustatory function exhibited little or no relationship with gender. Combined examinations of OERPs, T&T and triple drop method, could make it possible to reflect the overall chemical sensory functions in subjects systematically and provide scientific evidence for clinical diagnosis and treatment early.