Four odorants for olfactory training are enough: a pilot study

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Abstract

Background: Olfactory training (OT) is commonly used for the treatment of olfactory disorders. Nevertheless, there is an ongoing debate about the most effective OT regimen. We aimed to compare the effects of OT with 7 items (rose, lemon, eucalyptus, cloves, stewed apple, balm, mint) to 4-item-OT (rose, lemon, eucalyptus, cloves) over 3 months. Methods: Participants were 40 patients with olfactory dysfunction receiving 4-item-OT or 7-item-OT and 60 gender- and age-matched individuals with normal sense of smell receiving no OT, 4-item-OT, or 7-item-OT. Before and after the OT we assessed n-butanol odor thresholds, discrimination, and identification (TDI score), additionalthresholds for (R)-(-)-carvone, β-damascenone, salicyclic acid benzylester, the degree of phantosmia and parosmia, cognitive function, and ratings of olfactory function. Results: In both patient groups, the TDI score increased with the use of OT, regardless of the number of odors used (p < 0.001; 3.48 ± 4.21 and lower than control groups). The clinically significant increase of 5.5 points in TDI score correlated with change of ratings of parosmia (r 0.62; p < 0.01) and with ratings of olfactory dysfunction (r = 0.51; p < 0.05). Conclusion: Concluding, OT over a 3-months period with 4 or 7 odors appears to produce similar results, although the sample size has to be considered.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)6445-6458
Number of pages14
JournalEuropean archives of oto-rhino-laryngology
Volume281
Issue number12
Early online date6 Sept 2024
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0001-9713-0183/work/168207518
PubMed 39242414

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • COVID-19 related smell loss, MOCA test, Olfactory dysfunction, Olfactory training, Seven odors olfactory training