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Olfactory cleft evaluation: a predictor for olfactory function in smell-impaired patients?

  • Rhinology
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

In this study, we introduce an extension of previous work by Soler et al. (Int Forum Allergy Rhinol 6(3):293–298, 2016) on a modified endoscopic scoring system of the Lund–Kennedy Score (focusing on the olfactory cleft) to evaluate its correlation with the olfactory function in patients with various smell disorders.

Study design

A prospective cohort study.

Methods

Two-hundred and eighty-eight participants were included and categorized in five groups according to the cause of their olfactory disorder: (0) control, (1) idiopathic, (2) sino-nasal, (3) postinfectious and (4) post traumatic olfactory loss. Olfaction was evaluated using the “Sniffin’ Sticks” test. The classical Lund–Kennedy scoring and a new olfactory cleft specific Lund–Kennedy scoring (OC–LK) were performed to evaluate mucosal changes.

Results

Significantly higher OC–LK scores on both sides were found in smell-impaired patients as compared to normosmic controls. When comparing the 4 groups, a significant difference of the OC–LK score were present between the sino-nasal and all other groups. Most importantly, significant negative correlations with strong effects were shown in the sino-nasal group between the OC–LK score and odor discrimination and odor identification. However, no such correlation emerged between the classical LK score and smell function.

Conclusion

Olfactory cleft evaluation using the OC–LK score correlates with the olfactory function in patients with sino-nasal smell disorder. This diagnostic tool may reflect the underlying pathophysiological mechanism of sino-nasal smell loss, and therefore, should complement olfactory diagnostics in patients with sino-nasal smell disorder.

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Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the ‘Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft’ to TH (DFG HU441/18-1). SCP was granted by the ‘Dresden Fellowship Program’ of the “Technische Universität” (TU) Dresden.

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Author notes

  1. Sophia C. Poletti and Gustavo Murta equally contributed.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Smell and Taste Clinic, TU Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany

    Sophia C. Poletti, Gustavo Murta, Antje Hähner & Thomas Hummel

Authors
  1. Sophia C. Poletti
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  2. Gustavo Murta
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  3. Antje Hähner
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  4. Thomas Hummel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Hummel.

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Conflict of interest

TH, GM, AH, SCP declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Poletti, S.C., Murta, G., Hähner, A. et al. Olfactory cleft evaluation: a predictor for olfactory function in smell-impaired patients?. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 275, 1129–1137 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-018-4913-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-018-4913-8

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