Office-Based Olfaction Assessment
Erdem Atalay Çetinkaya *
Department of ENT, Antalya Ataturk State Hospital, Antalya, Turkey.
Nuray Bayar Muluk
Department of ENT, Faculty of Medical, University of Kırıkkale, Kırıkkale, Turkey.
Cemal Cingi
Department of ENT, Faculty of Medical, University of Eskisehir Osmangazi, Eskisehir, Turkey.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
A simple assessment of olfactory acuity is essential and can play a vital role in patient care and quality-of-life parameters. Any process that interferes with the physiologic environment of the nasal mucosa can be associated with restricted olfaction. Studies have examined how the human sense of smell likely integrates information from complex arrays of odorant chemicals that, individually, would seem to produce conflicting odorous sensations. “Scratch and sniff” format screening tests are readily available and have been standardized for age, gender, and ethnicity. It is important to identify a scent that can be used as in an initial olfactory test If a patient cannot identify this scent, they should take further diagnostic testing.
In this review, we give some essential information on office-based olfaction assessment and attempt to cover important aspects of the evaluation, especially from a clinical perspective.
Keywords: Smell, olfaction, screening tests.