Smell dysfunction from symptoms to diagnosis – recent methods of olfactory function assessment

Marciniak Aleksandra, Mielnik-Niedzielska Grażyna. Smell dysfunction from symptoms to diagnosis – recent methods of olfactory function assessment. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2019;9(2):235-242. eISNN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2564084 http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/6588 https://pbn.nauka.gov.pl/sedno-webapp/works/904209 The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part b item 1223 (26/01/2017). 1223 Journal of Education, Health and Sport eissn 2391-8306 7 © The Authors 2019; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 30.01.2019. Revised: 30.01.2019. Accepted: 13.02.2019. Smell dysfunction from symptoms to diagnosis – recent methods of olfactory function assessment Aleksandra Marciniak MD1 (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8228-8786) Grażyna Mielnik-Niedzielska PhD1 (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0818-9771) 1Pediatric Otolaryngology Clinic ul. prof. Antoniego Gębali 6, 20-867, Lublin Corresponding Author: Aleksandra Marciniak Present Corresponding Address: Pediatric Otolaryngology Clinic ul. prof. Antoniego Gębali 6, 20-867, Lublin Telephone number: + 48 510 081 082 E-mail address: marciniak.alex@gmail.com Key words: olfactory system, smell function, odorant perception, odour detection, olfaction Abstract Sense of smell poses an incredibly significant aspect of our life, it has been present from the beginning of our existence and its role in maintaining the well-being of our organism is non-sustainable. Olfactory system dysfunctions have a negative influence on general health status, psychological condition and quality of life. Smell detection disturbances can not only lead to loss of pleasant feelings or basic defence mechanism deficiency, but also may be symptoms of serious ongoing or commencing diseases. The authors aimed to present in this article the most important information on physiology of olfaction system, most recent methods of examination and possible causes of smell dysfunction. A systematic review of the literature concerning smell examination was conducted including both previous review articles and original papers. Smell assessment remains an enigmatic branch of medicine, qualified personnel and special equipment which would enable to fully and reliably evaluate the condition of olfactory function is still not widely available. It seems that serious consideration of patients' complaints on odour perception, directed and complete investigation of reported dysfunctions, and adequately adjusted multidisciplinar treatment would be effective according to both, quality and length of patients' life