INVESTIGATION OF OLFACTORY THRESHOLD RESPONSES IN CHRONIC RHINITIS SUBTYPES

摘要

Studies have not established clear immunologic or nonimmu-nologic mechanisms for nonallergic rhinitis (NAR), although autonomic dysfunction has been suggested to play a central role.4 Patients with NAR commonly experience symptoms provoked by odorants, such as perfumes and smoke. It has been hypothesized that patients with NAR have abnormalities in their olfactory transduction pathway, leading to pathologic changes in the olfactory mucosa.5 Few studies6"8 have investigated odorant discrimination in patients with chronic rhinitis subtypes. One study7 reported greater olfactory loss in patients with NAR in response to common odorants, such as formalin, camphor, the Indian saffron spice asafetida, and oil of peppermint, compared with patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) and control subjects, with males manifesting greater olfactory loss than females for all odorants, except asafetida.6 Other studies reported that decreased ol-faction in those with NAR was age dependent. To further elucidate the role of olfaction in chronic rhinitis subtypes, olfactory threshold (OT) was measured in patients with AR, NAR, and mixed rhinitis compared with control subjects without rhinitis symptoms, controlling for nasal congestion by acoustic rhinometry. We hypothesized that patients with NAR compared with patients with AR would have an increased OT because of their increased clinical response to odorants