ABSTRACT
Introduction Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is often a devaluated sensorial affection. The objective evaluation of this dysfunction does not evaluate its compromise in patients' daily life. It is unclear to what extent there is a correlation between the objective evaluation of OD and patient-reported impairment. Objective We aim to search if Sniffin Sticks® correlates with the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) of Hyposmia Symptoms, and therefore if it is a useful method for clinical use. Methods A prospective study was carried out to evaluate and compare consecutive patients who had olfactory impairment due to COVID-19 that were referred to an otolaryngology office. The variables evaluated were gender, age, co-morbidities, and olfactory thresholds (measured according to Sniffin Sticks®). Patients were also enquired about their sense of impairment according to VAS from 1 (worst possible) to 10 (best possible). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (IBM SPSS Statistics 26). Normal distribution was checked using both skewness and kurtosis and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Pearson correlation test was used to seek a correlation between VAS and olfactory thresholds. All reported p-values are two-tailed, with a p-value ≤ 0.05 indicating statistical significance. Results Our sample of 47 patients was composed of 30 females (63.8%) and 17 females (36.2%). We found a mean variation between olfactory thresholds before and after the intervention of 3.91±2.466, and an average improvement of 2.29±2.93 in the visual analog scale for subjective evaluation of olfactory impairment. According to the Pearson correlation test, with 95% confidence, there is evidence to claim a moderate association (0.512) between an improvement in olfactory thresholds and VAS (p=0.05). Conclusions There was a moderate correlation between ratings and measures of olfactory function. On an individual basis, there were remarkable differences between measures and ratings of olfactory function. VAS should be considered in the evaluation of the hyposmic patient, due to its simplicity and quick applicability.
ABSTRACT
Introduction Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is often a devaluated sensorial affection. The objective evaluation of this dysfunction doesn't evaluate its compromise in patients' daily life. Therefore, the use of a Portuguese-validated tool is of uttermost importance to objectively scale the pathology presented by these patients. Objective We aim to validate and cross-culturally adapt the Olfactory Disorders Questionnaire (ODQ) in the Portuguese language. Methods A prospective study was carried out to evaluate and compare 56 consecutive patients who had olfactory disorders and 54 asymptomatic controls. A cross-cultural adaptation process was taken into account in order to transform the original English tool into a valid Portuguese version. We explored the psychometric properties of the European-Portuguese version of the Portuguese version of ODQ (PT-ODQ) concerning its internal consistency, reproducibility, feasibility, and discriminatory validity. Results Cronbach alpha for the tool was 0.924 showing strong internal consistency. We also found a statistically significant difference in PT-ODQ between patients with olfactory disorders and patients without olfactory disorders, according to the Mann-Whitney test. Conclusions The PT-ODQ seems to be a valid tool for assessing the individual effect of olfactory disorders on patients' quality of life and, therefore, could be applied in olfactory disorders research and daily practice.