ANOSMIA FOLLOWING HEAD TRAUMA - PRELIMINARY-STUDY OF STEROID TREATMENT

Twenty patients with posttraumatic anosmia were subjected to olfactory function testing, including olfactory acuity tests using a T & T olfa ctometer and an intravenous olfaction test. T & T tests revealed compl ete loss in 14 patients. In the intravenous olfaction test, 14 patient s showed no response and 5 patients showed abnormal responses. The sev erity of olfactory dysfunction showed no correlation with background f actors such as the site of head trauma, the presence of the fracture o f skull, the presence of unconsciousness, or the presence of head oper ation. As a preliminary study, seventeen patients were administered a corticosteroid, a topical nasal drop of 0.1% betamethasone for 12 pati ents and an oral administration of prednisolone for 5 patients. Four p atients showed slight recovery of olfactory function following a corti costeroid therapy. Effects of corticosteroids on olfaction might be ex plained by regeneration of olfactory receptor cell axons and reestabli shment of contact with cells in the olfactory bulb.