Jordan smell test: a pilot study

Abstract

Objective An objective smell test is essential to identify the level of smelling sensation and provide information on changes in olfaction after treatment. The aim of this study is to describe a simple, portable, inexpensive, and reliable olfaction identification test in the Arab population (Jordan smell test). Patients and methods Seven odorants that are familiar to Arab people were selected for this smell test. In academic tertiary medical center setting, odor discrimination testing in patients with sinonasal disease and in nonsmoker healthy volunteers was performed, and the results were compared with appropriate statistical formulas. Results A total of 25 healthy volunteers and another 25 age-matched and sex-matched patients with sinonasal pathology were evaluated with our smell test. Volunteers scored 13.2 in Jordan smell test, whereas the score was 9.2 in the patients (P Conclusion Jordan smell test is a novel, office-based, and easy administrable method to objectively assess olfaction sensation in the Arab population. The test is flexible to changes in its different variables, such as the type or number of odors. Further studies with a larger number of participants in different Arab countries are needed to validate our results.