The Assessment of Olfactory Function Related to the Age after Endoscopic Sinus Surgery

초록

Objectives: We assessed the olfactory function change in patients with chronic sinusitis who had endoscopic sinus surgeries. By comparing the olfactory test results of the older age group to the results of the younger age group, we tried to evaluate whether age factor affects the postoperative olfactory function. Methods: Twenty patients with similar state of chronic sinusitis (2 groups, with 10 patients in the 4th decade and 10 patients in th 7th decade), who complained of olfactory dysfunction, were selected and endoscopic sinus surgeries were performed. We performed preoperative OMU CT and nasal endoscopy examination to evaluate the severity of sinusitis and polyp. Preoperative and postoperative nasal symptoms were assessed by questionnaires. The improvement of olfactory function after endoscopic sinus surgery was evaluated by olfactory function tests (T & T olfactometer and CCCRC test) preoperatively and postoperatively. The minimum follow-up duration was 6 months. Results: The preopertive olfactory dysfunctions were similar in both age groups. Significant improvement of olfactory function was seen in both age groups. There was no signigicant difference in the postoperative olfactory functions be tween both age groups. Conclusion: Though old aged chronic sinusitis patients had the olfactory dysfunction, active surgical treatment would be effective in improvement of olfactory function.