TIME-COURSE OF OLFACTORY FUNCTION IN ALLE RGIC RHINITIS

Time course of olfactory function in allergic rhinitis. Olfactory dysf unction is one of the major complaints in patients suffering from alle rgic rhinitis. Little is known about the onset of hyposmia in seasonal allergy. We examined the time-course of olfactory function in 14 pati ents (6 females, 8 males, 30,5 +/- 6,1 years) with a history of at lea st 2 years of allergic rhinitis requiring medical treatment, positive skin prick test and RAST (greater than or equal to class II) to grass pollen. All had undergone a rhinologic evaluation including nasal endo scopy and A-scan ultrasonography of the paranasal sinuses. Exclusion c riteria were the coexistence of nonallergic nasal or paranasal sinus d isease, nasal allergy to perennial allergens, chronic disease other th an atopic allergy, pregnancy, immunotherapy for allergy during the las t 3 years, antiallergic therapy at study entry, refused consent, age u nder 20 or over 45 years. Allergic symptoms of rhinorrhea, nasal obstr uction, itching and sneezing were daily scored in a diary. Olfactory f unction was evaluated birhinal using a modified CCCRC-testing (CAIN) p rocedure for threshold, identification and discrimination. The result of the better smelling side of the nose was used for statistical analy sis. Patients were tested preseasonally and on day 3, 7, 14, and 21 of the season. Preseasonally, all patients were normosmic. There was a s ignificant decrease in threshold and identification between the third and fourteenth day of the season, but no further changes up to day 21 and no changes in discrimination over the entire period.