POCKET SMELL TEST FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN

• Published in: JIBI INKOKA TEMBO Vol. 47; no. 5; pp. 301 - 304
• Main Author: Ishimaru, Tadashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Society of Oto-rhino-laryngology Tokyo 2004; 耳鼻咽喉科展望会
• Subjects: olfaction; pocket smell test; schoolchildren; スクリーニング; ポケットスメルテスト; 嗅覚検査; 学校健診
• ISSN: 0386-9687; 1883-6429
• DOI: 10.11453/orltokyo1958.47.301

Eye and hearing tests are performed during health examinations for schoolchildren in Japan, but olfaction tests are not performed. If olfaction tests were performed in schoolchildren, diseases of the nose would be easier to identify. The pocket smell test (PST) was performed in 5th-grade elementary schoolchildren (n=68). Healthy schoolchildren were diagnosed as having normal olfaction by the PST, but the mint and paint thinner test odors often produced incorrect answers. Since the PST was made in the United States, all of the test odors may not be familiar to some Japanese children. The PST scores were not significantly different between subjects with or without nasal diseases. While the PST is applicable as an olfaction screening test in schoolchildren, it is not sensitive enough to identify nasal diseases.