The Impact of Nasal Polyposis on Olfactory Dysfunction in Chronic Rhinosinusitis

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Olfactory disturbance is a major sinonasal symptom of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with nasal polyps (NP). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the severity of nasal polyposis and olfactory dysfunction in CRS. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: A total of 277 subjects with CRS were included in this study. All participants were divided into four groups according to the size and degree of the nasal polyposis: the control group (no polyp; n=79); NP (nasal polyp) group I (both or unilateral simple polyposis; n=85); NP group II (unilateral diffuse polyposis; n=66); and NP group III (bilateral diffuse polyposis; n=47). We analyzed the relationships between the severity of nasal polyposis and olfactory dysfunction using both the Korean Version of the “Sniffin'Sticks” test (KVSS Test) II and the Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders (QOD). RESULTS: The KVSS Test II TDI score was significantly decreased in the bilateral diffuse polyposis group (NP group III=15.62±13.39) compared to the other polyp groups [control group=25.04±9.67 (p<0.001); NP group I=21.67±11.18 (p=0.005); NP group II=21.51±10.85 (p=0.008)]. However, there were no significant differences in the KVSS Test II TDI score between the control group and NP groups I and II. For the QOD_NS score, only NP group III (11.51±9.87) had significantly increased values compared to the control group [8.42±12.27 (p=0.015)]. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that bilateral diffuse nasal polyposis is related to significant olfactory dysfunction in CRS.