[Analysis of clinical characteristics of 141 patients with postviral olfactory dysfunction]

Abstract

Objective:The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical features of the patients with postviral olfactory dysfunction (PVOD). Method:Clinical information of 141 consecutive outpatients with PVOD were collected and analyzed based on a questionnaire, including age, gender, months of onset, and symptoms. Sniffin'Sticks Test was used as a psychophysical olfactory test to evaluate olfactory function. Result:Retrospective analysis of 141 patients with PVOD, the male to female ratio of patients was 1.0:2.3. The severity of olfactory dysfunction was found no significant difference between the man and the women (χ2=0.05,P>0.05). Patients aged from 30 to 40 years old and 50 to 60 years of age were vulnerable to PVOD. The most common nasal symptoms at the times of upper respiratory infection (URI) were nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea and sneezing, together with other symptoms, such as sore throat, sputum and cough. Conclusion:Analysis of clinical characteristics in a large sample shows that gender, age may be related to PVOD. However, our understanding of this complex disease is still limited and much more studies are necessary.

Keywords: olfactory dysfunction; symptoms; upper respiratory infection; virus.