Between January 1981 and December 1990, 814 patients with taste disorders were treated in our department. The ratio of male patients to female patients was 2: 3, and most patients were in the 6th decade.
Taste disorders are caused by various factors: drug-induced, trauma oral and idiopathic diseases. Drug-induced taste disorders accounted for 23% of the total, head and peripheral nerve trauma for 15%, oral diseases for 14%, and colds for 12%. Idiopathic loss of taste was present in 10%.
Most of the patients were treated with Zinc. The rate of complete recovery after colds was 68%, after zinc deficiency 57%, after idiopathic etiology 47%, and after drugs 38%. The rate of complete recovery of patients whose treatment began within one month of onset was 78%, but if treatment began more one month after onset in was about 40%. Early treatment is therefore thought to be important.
