Screening of olfactory function with a four-minute odor identification test: Reliability, normative data, and investigations in patients with olfactory loss

The study aimed to create a screening test on the basis of the odor identif ication test as used in the "Sniffin' Sticks" olfactory test kit. It should appeal to the practitioner in terms of 1) time required for testing, 2) re liability, 3) separation of "normal" from ' abnormal," and 4) the fact that it allows lateralized screening. Experiments should provide a normative da tabase (number of subjects > 1,000), establish test-retest reliability (n > 100), and compare results from patients with olfactory loss (n > 200). The correlation between results on 2 repetitive tests was .78. The test differ entiated anosmics, hyposmics, and normosmics (p < .001). None of the 112 an osmics reached a score higher than 8; the 90th percentile was at a score of 6. When only 6 odors were used for calculating scores, for anosmics the 95 (th) percentile was at a score of 4. These data provide a basis for the scr eening of patients by means of "Sniffin' Sticks.".