Recently, olfactory disturbance caused by various diseases has been an important symptom. In this study, 76 patients with olfactory disturbance seen at University of the Ryukyus Hospital between 1997 and 2001 were analyzed. Distribution of the disease caused by olfactory disturbance was as follows: 26 cases of rhinosinusitis, 47 of viral infection and 3 of head trauma. Patient characteristics, initial treatment and results of T & T olfactometry or intravenous olfactometry (Alinamin® test) did not significantly differ between the rhinosinusitis group and the viral infection group. To investigate whether the prognosis could be estimated by T & T olfactometry and intravenous olfactometry, the initial results of T & T olfactometry or intravenous olfactometry and improvements after treatment were longitudinally compared in the rhinosinusitis group and in the viral infection group. As a result, improvements in the disturbance were significantly correlated with T & T olfactometric findings in both groups. Similarly, improvements were significantly correlated to findings on olfactometry. These results suggested that initial examination for olfactory disturbance should be able to estimate the prognosis of the disturbance caused by various diseases.
