Olfactory Dysfunction in Allergic Rhinitis is Related to Nasal Eosinophilic Inflammation

Background: Olfactory dysfunction is a common finding in patients suffering from allergic rhinitis. However, little is known about the pathophysiology underlying this phenomenon and about the time course of hyposmia in seasonal allergy.

Methods: A prospective controlled study was performed on 17 patients with allergic rhinitis to grass pollen in order to evaluate olfactory function in correlation to the duration of allergen exposition, symptoms, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) in nasal secretions, and nasal volume flow (NVF). Olfactory function was evaluated preseasonally and on days 3, 7, 14, and 21 of the season using a modified Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center testing procedure for threshold, identification, and discrimination. Twelve volunteers without allergy served as controls.

Results: Preseasonally, patients and controls performed equally in discrimination and identification testing, but not in threshold testing. No changes were found in the controls, but a significant decrease in threshold and identification from the 7th day of the season in patients with allergy was noted that was better correlated to ECP than to NVF. NVF was already maximally decreased from the 3rd intraseasonal day with no further changes. ECP increase became significant at day 14.

Conclusion: Patients with grass pollen allergy develop olfactory dysfunction during natural allergen exposure that might be related to allergic inflammatory mechanisms.