Short-Term Efficacy and Safety of the Direct Triamcinolone Application Using Absorbable Nasal Packing in Anosmic Patients

Abstract

Background and Objectives The most common treatment for olfactory dysfunction is the use of glucocorticoids. However, using systemic glucocorticoids is limited due to systemic side effects, and topical glucocorticoids are less effective than systemic glucocorticoids. The aim of this study is to evaluate short-term therapeutic effects of direct triamcinolone (TA) application using absorbable nasal packing material on anosmia patients.Subjects and Method This was a retrospective study that evaluated patients who were diagnosed with anosmia and treated with oral prednisolone (PD) pulse therapy or 2 times of a 20 mg dose of TA impregnated absorbable nasal packing in both olfactory clefts. Information of the demographic features, the self-reporting olfaction scores (visual analogue scale [VAS], 0-10), and the threshold, discrimination, identification (TDI) scores of Korean version of the Sniffin’ stick test II were collected and analyzed.Results The data of 72 patients were analyzed in this study: 30 patients were treated with TA nasal packing, and 42 patients with oral PD. In both group, VAS and TDI scores were significantly improved 2 weeks after treatment. The rate of significant olfactory improvement of TA nasal packing group was higher than oral PD group (60.0% vs. 47.6%), but there was no statistically significant difference (<i>p</i>=0.300). There was no significant systemic adverse effect after TA nasal packing treatments.Conclusion Direct TA application using absorbable nasal packing is a possible treatment option in anosmic patients.