Nasal airway surgery improves sense of smell; study adds data

USA: A recent investigation published in IFAR: International Forum of Allergy and Rhinology has added data on improving subjective olfaction tests after nasal airway surgery.

It is already known that there is a lack of data on nasal airway surgery's effect on olfaction, and it is yet to be established.

Considering this, a study was conducted by Dr Gillman, MD, from the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, with a team of researchers to assess the following question,

What are the olfactory changes after septoplasty with inferior turbinate reduction through objective and patient-reported measures?

The points in the study design are:

• The type of study was a Prospective, observational study.

• The patient had a history of nasal airway obstruction.

• The data was collected between July 2017 - October 2019 of those patients who underwent septoplasty with inferior turbinate reductions.

• Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation, NOSE scale and an 11-point Ease-of-Breathing, EOB Likert scale were used to characterise nasal airflow.

• 11-point Olfactory Likert Scale and a 40-item University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT-40), pre-and postoperatively, were used to assess olfaction.

• Pearson correlations were used to assess the relationship between nasal obstruction and olfaction measurement.

The conclusive points of the study are:

• There was an improvement in NOSE scores from 67.4 (preoperatively) to 19.6 (postoperatively) in 80 patients.

• The p-value was <0.001.

• There was an improvement in EOB Likert scores from 3.9/10 to 8.1/10 (mean) after surgery, with a recorded p-value of <0.001.

• There was an improvement in Olfactory Likert scores from 6.1/10 (baseline) to 7.9/10 (post-surgery) with a p-value of <0.001.

• There was no recorded statistically significant difference in UPSIT testing pre and postoperatively.

• Between the extent of changes in NOSE scores and improved olfactory Likert scores, a moderate correlation was noted with r = 0.51 and a p-value of <0.001.

• Between the extent of changes in EOB Likert scores and improved olfactory Likert scores, a moderate correlation was noted with r = 0.55, p<.0001.

The researchers concluded that in our study data, we recorded an improvement in subjective olfaction tests with nasal airway surgery.

They also added that olfaction changes are best correlated with how surgery can improve subjective nasal obstructive symptoms.

Further reading:

Will nasal airway surgery improve my sense of smell? A prospective observational study. Gillman et al.

Grant S Gillman MD