Analysis of Steroid Effect in Patients with Olfactory Dysfunction

Abstract

Background and Objectives Olfaction plays an important role on sensing and discriminating smell and taste. The number of patients visiting outpatient department for treatment of olfactory dysfunction is increasing along with the change in patients’ perception about the importance of olfactory function.Subjects and Method Patients with olfactory dysfunction, who visited the hospital from 2010 to 2018, were included in this study. The medical records were reviewed focusing on the Korean Version of Sniffin’ Stick, the CT finding of olfactory cleft or signs of sinusitis, and the effect of oral steroids. Postviral olfactory disorder (PVOD) patients and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) patients were treated by oral steroid, starting on prednisolon (Solondo Tab^®, YuHan Corp.; 40 mg per day) and tapered for 2 weeks.Results There were 13 cases where patients’ sense of smell was improved only for a short period of time after taking steroids but worsened thereafter. They showed improvement of olfactory function every time they took steroids. We defined this group as “steroid dependent olfactory dysfunction.”Conclusion It is necessary to understand the physiology and molecular biologic mechanisms behind the causes of olfactory dysfunction in order to establish the diagnostic criteria and treatment strategy. Steroid dependent olfactory dysfunction also needs more investigation.