Patient perception and awareness of psychophysical olfactory tests: A cross-sectional observational survey - 06/03/26

Doi : 10.1016/j.anorl.2025.09.009

J.R. Lechien ^a,^b,^c,^d,⁎ , A. Maniaci ^e, G. Salzano ^f, C.M. Chiesa-Estomba ^g, M. Mayo-Yanez ^h, A. Saibene ⁱ, G. Iannella ^j, S. Saussez ^a,^c,^{^{1
Dr. Vaira and Dr. Saussez have significantly contributed to the paper and may be joined as co-senior authors.}}, L.A. Vaira ^a,^k,^l,^{^{1
Dr. Vaira and Dr. Saussez have significantly contributed to the paper and may be joined as co-senior authors.}}

^a Department of Surgery, UMONS Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons (UMons), Mons, Belgium

^b Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Foch Hospital, School of Medicine, Phonetics and Phonology Laboratory, UMR 7018 CNRS, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle/Paris 3, Paris, France

^c Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, CHU de Bruxelles, CHU Saint-Pierre, School of Medicine, Brussels, Belgium

^d Polyclinique Elsan de Poitiers, Poitiers, France

^e Department of medicine and surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Enna “Kore”, Enna, Italy

^f Maxillofacial Surgery Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, University Federico II of Naples, University Federico II, Via Pansini 5, Naples, Italy

^g Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Hospital Universitario Donostia, San Sebastian, Spain

^h Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Department, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario A Coruña (CHUAC), A Coruña, Galicia, Spain

ⁱ Otolaryngology Unit, Santi Paolo e Carlo Hospital, Department of Health Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20121 Milan, Italy

^j Organi di Senso Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 151, 00161 Rome, Italy

^k Maxillofacial Surgery Operative Unit, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy

^l Biomedical Sciences Department, PhD School of Biomedical Science, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy

^⁎ Corresponding author at: Department of Human Anatomy and Experimental Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, UMONS Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, Avenue du Champ de Mars, 6, 7000 Mons, Belgium. Department of Human Anatomy and Experimental Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, UMONS Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology Avenue du Champ de Mars, 6 Mons 7000 Belgium

Sous presse. Épreuves corrigées par l'auteur. Disponible en ligne depuis le Friday 06 March 2026

Abstract

Objectives

To evaluate the patient perception and awareness of psychophysical olfactory testing (PT).

Methods

A survey was distributed to 119 consecutive patients consulting in the Dour Medical Center for olfactory dysfunction (OD) lasting for more than 6 months. The survey assessed the patient opinion regarding the usefulness, advantages, and impact of PT on the olfactory check-up and follow-up. Smell sense was evaluated with threshold, discrimination and identification (TDI) test, and the Olfactory Disorder Questionnaire (ODQ).

Results

Survey was completed by 118 patients (99%). There were 72 females (61%). The mean age was 55.1 ± 15.1 years. There were 53 (45.0%) patients with complete smell loss, 43 (36.4%) with partial smell loss, and 22 (18.6%) with disturbed smell (parosmia). The mean TDI was 18.0 ± 10.9. The mean ODQ was 35.8 ± 13.9. PT are considered a supportive test for the evaluation of the OD by 66% of patients. The primary PT limitations were considered as the presence of uncommon (65.3%) or unknown odors (42.7%), and the lack of consistency with their OD (55.9%), which was associated with the wish to improve PT with daily life odors (64.4%; r _s = −0.386; P = 0.001). In 53.4% of cases, patients realized that they were able to smell some odors thanks to PT. Patients with parosmia reported less positive opinion of PT compared to those with anosmia/hyposmia.

Conclusion

Two thirds of patients with OD have good opinion of PT. Patients with anosmia or hyposmia reported better opinion than those with parosmia, strengthening the importance to consider specific PT dedicated to parosmia for this population. The inclusion of patients’ daily life odors in PT is a potential point of improvement for future studies.

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Keywords : Smell, Olfaction, Psychophysical, Olfactory, Otolaryngology head neck surgery