Comparison of olfactory function in patients with seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis

Hyposmia is a common symptom in allergic rhinitis. However, little is known about differences in the olfactory function of patients with seasonal or perennial allergy. A prospective controlled study was performed on 28 patients with allergic rhinitis to grass pollen and on 47 patients with allergic rhinitis to mites. Sixty-six healthy volunteers served as a control. Olfactory function was evaluated by a modified Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center testing procedure for threshold, identification, and discrimination. The grass pollen-allergic patients were tested preseasonally and after 3 weeks of intraseasonal grass pollen exposure; the mite-allergic patients and the volunteers…