Abstract
Abstract Objectives: In patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS),
olfactory dysfunction (OD) is a common complaint. The focus of this
research was to evaluate the effectiveness of olfactory training (OT) in
patients with CRS after sinonasal surgery. Design : Prospective
controlled trial. Participants: We enrolled 111 Korean CRS patients who
underwent sinonasal surgery. Main Outcome Measures: At baseline and
three months after starting OT, both participants were assessed by an
olfactory function test and endoscopy. The Korean version of the
Sniffin’ stick II (KVSS-II) was used to perform the olfactory function
test. A visual analog scale and the Mini-Mental State Examination were
used to assess nasal and psychological functions. Over the course of
three months, five odorants were used in OT (rose, lemon, cinnamon,
orange, and peach). Results: Over a 12-week duration, OT increased
olfactory activity in nearly 62 percent of subjects than in non-OT
subjects. The OT group had significantly higher olfactory outcomes for
the total KVSS-II and identification scores than the non-OT group
between the initial and follow-up assessments. The initial score
influenced the degree of olfactory improvement after OT. Conclusions: OT
patients exhibited significantly higher total KVSS-II scores compared
with non-OT patients after sinonasal surgery; in particular, the odor
identification score was different between the two groups. The results
of this study show that a 12-week period of repeated short-term exposure
to various odors could be useful in enhancing olfactory activity in
patients who underwent sinonasal surgery for the improvement of
sensory-neural olfactory impairment.