Effect on the postsurgical olfactory function

Introduction Anesthesia has a temporary effect on the odor system. The aim of the study is to verify the effect of anesthesia on the olfactory system.

Methods In a prospective, single-center study we examined the olfactory function of 110 patients (18 - 75 years) between 2015 and 2018. We included patients who underwent elective otolaryngologic, not nasal, surgery with previous usage of anesthetic. We applied an odor identification test (Sniffin` Sticks 16, blue). The test was used one day prior surgery (T1), one to two hours after the surgery (T2) and finally one day postoperatively (T3).

Results All measurements were conducted on 90 patients. All received propofol and 13 patients additionally sevoflurane. The patients were divided into groups according to the amount of propofol and the duration of anesthesia. The olfactory identification was one day after surgery (T3) significantly better than prior surgical procedure T1 (11,4 vs.12,1; p  <  0,001) and at the time point T2 (11,3 vs. 12,1; p  <  0,001). The results were not influenced by the anesthetics (propofol p = 0,84; sevoflurane p = 0,84) and the duration of anesthesia (p = 0,72).

Conclusion The study showed an improvement on the odor identification one day after surgical procedure. Yet especially propofol and sevoflurane had not an effect on the odor system. Future studies should confirm the improvement of the identification test and examine the duration of the improvement.

Poster-PDF A-1430.PDF

Publication History

Article published online:
10 June 2020