Hummel TSmell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Whitcroft KLSmell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Andrews PUCL Ear Institute, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
Altundag ADepartment of Otorhinolaryngoglogy, Istanbul Surgery Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
Cinghi CDepartment of Otolaryngology; Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Costanzo RMSmell and Taste Disorders Center, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, VCU School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA.
Damm MDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cologne Medical Center, Cologne, Germany.
Frasnelli JResearch Chair in Chemosensory Neuroanatomy, Department of Anatomy, Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres, Trois-Rivieres, QC, Canada.
Gudziol HDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Jena, Jena, Germany.
Gupta NDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, University College of Medical Sciences and GTB Hospital, Delhi, India.
Haehner ASmell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Holbrook EDepartment of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Hong SCDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Konkuk University Medical Center, Hwayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Hornung DDept. of Biology, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY, USA.
Hüttenbrink KBDept. of Biology, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY, USA.
Kamel RDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Kobayashi MDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Mie, Japan.
Konstantinidis ISmell and Taste Clinic, Second Academic Otorhinolaryngology Department, Papageorgiou Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Landis BNDepartment for ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
Leopold DADivision of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, Vermont, USA.
Macchi AENT Clinic, University of Insubria, ASST, sette laghi, Varese, Italy.
Miwa TDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Kanazawa Medical University, Uchinada, Kahoku, Ishikawa, Japan.
Moesges RInstitute of Medical Statistics, Informatics and Epidemiology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Mullol JRhinology Unit and Smell Clinic, IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Mueller CADepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Ottaviano GDepartment of Neurosciences DNS, Otolaryngology Section, University, Padua, Italy.
Passali GCHead and Neck section, Department of Aging, Neurosciences, Head and Neck and Orthopedic; Catholic University of Sacred heart, A. Gemelli Hospital Foundation, Rome, Italy.
Philpott CNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
Pinto JMSection of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences, Chicago, IL, USA.
Ramakrishnan VJDepartments of Otolaryngology and Neurosurgery, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA.
Rombaux PUniversite Catholique de Louvain, Institute of Neurosciences, Unit of Otorhinolaryngology, Brussels, Belgium.
Roth YThe Institute for Nose and Sinus Therapy and Clinical Investigations, Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Edith Wolfson Medical Center, Tel Aviv University Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Holon, Israel.
Schlosser RADepartment of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical Univeristy of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
Shu BDepartment of Otolaryngology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, National Yang Ming University School of Medicine Faculty of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
Soler GDivision of Otorhinolaryngology, Area of Smell and Taste, Hospital de Clinicas, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires City, Argentina.
Stjärne PSection of Rhinology, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Stuck BADepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Germany.
Vodicka JDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Hospital Pardubice, Faculty of Health Studies, University of Pardubice, Pardubice, Czech Republic.
English
BACKGROUND Olfactory dysfunction is an increasingly recognised condition, associated with reduced quality of life and major health outcomes such as neurodegeneration and death. However, translational research in this field is limited by heterogeneity in methodological approach, including definitions of impairment, improvement and appropriate assessment techniques. Accordingly, effective treatments for smell loss are limited. In an effort to encourage high quality and comparable work in this field, among others, we propose the following ideas and recommendations. Whilst the full set of recommendations are outlined in the main document, points include the following: - Patients with suspected olfactory loss should undergo a full examination of the head and neck, including rigid nasal endoscopy with small diameter endoscopes. - Subjective olfactory assessment should not be undertaken in isolation, given its poor reliability. - Psychophysical assessment tools used in clinical and research settings should include reliable and validated tests of odour threshold, and/or one of odour identification or discrimination. - Comprehensive chemosensory assessment should include gustatory screening. - Smell training can be helpful in patients with olfactory loss of several aetiologies.
CONCLUSIONS We hope the current manuscript will encourage clinicians and researchers to adopt a common language, and in so doing, increase the methodological quality, consistency and generalisability of work in this field.