Abstract
Post-infectious olfactory loss is defined as an olfactory dysfunction in the course of an upper respiratory tract infection. Quantitative olfactory dysfunction is usually moderate to severe, with many patients experiencing a qualitative disorder such as parosmia. Diagnosis is made on the basis of patient history, normal clinical examination (no inflammatory disease in the olfactory cleft) and decreased olfactory function. This paper provides an update of pathophysiology, clinical management and prognosis, and also looks at the clinical characteristic of a cohort of 122 patients from our department. Results from orthonasal and retronasal testing, chemosensory event-related potentials and olfactory bulb volume confirmed previous findings: our post-infectious olfactory patients were middle-aged women (sex ratio 2.4; mean age 53.9), with 47.5% and 18% of them complaining of parosmia and phantosmia respectively. More of them were hyposmic than anosmic (64.7% and 35.3% respectively) and 18 suffered repeat episodes. Olfactory bulb volume was correlated to psychophysical olfactory testing and orthonasal to retronasal scores. Olfactory-event-related potentials were found in about one-third of the patients and the vast majority of them had reproducible intranasal trigeminal event-related potentials. As there is no proven medical therapy for this disease, complete clinical evaluation of the patients may help to counsel patients about the recovery prognosis that applies to one-third of them.
Highlights
Post-infectious olfactory loss (POL) is defined as a sudden loss of olfactory function following an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) and was described for the first time more than twenty years ago.[1]
As no effective medical treatment has yet been found for this entity, prognosis and counselling based on a complete clinical evaluation of the patient is of primary importance
122 patients were diagnosed as having a post-infectious olfactory loss
Summary
Post-infectious olfactory loss (POL) is defined as a sudden loss of olfactory function following an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) and was described for the first time more than twenty years ago.[1]. Patients with POL are usually women and the disease typically occurs between the fourth and the sixth decades of life.[2,5] Onset of the upper respiratory tract infection (common cold, bronchitis,...) is often sudden and awareness of the olfactory dysfunction is present when major symptoms secondary to the infection subside.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
