Screening of Olfactory Function with a Four-Minute Odor Identification Test: Reliability, Normative Data, and Investigations in Patients with Olfactory Loss

• Published in: Annals of otology, rhinology & laryngology Vol. 110; no. 10; pp. 976 - 981
• Main Authors: Hummel, Thomas, Rosenheim, Kati, Konnerth, Claus-Günther, Kobal, Gerd
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.10.2001; Annals Publishing Compagny; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; Cranial nerves. Spinal roots. Peripheral nerves. Autonomic nervous system. Gustation. Olfaction; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Odorants; Olfaction Disorders - diagnosis; Reference Values; Sex Factors; Smell - physiology; olfaction; odor threshold; odor discrimination; odor identification; anosmia; Human; Nervous system diseases; Normality test; Exploration; Olfactory disorder; Neurological disorder; Medical screening; Reliability
• ISSN: 0003-4894; 1943-572X
• DOI: 10.1177/000348940111001015

The study aimed to create a screening test on the basis of the odor identification 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) reliability, 3) separation of “normal” from “abnormal,” and 4) the fact that it allows lateralized screening. Experiments should provide a normative database (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 differentiated anosmics, hyposmics, and normosmics (p < .001). None of the 112 anosmics 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 95th percentile was at a score of 4. These data provide a basis for the screening of patients by means of “Sniffin' Sticks.”