Olfactory screening test: experience in 102 Italian subjects.

Abstract

Development of the olfactory screening test has given the physician a fast and easy instrument to assess olfactory function. This study evaluated the odour identifiability and familiarity of the 12 items of the Sniffin' Sticks Screening test in 102 normal Italian subjects (54 female, 48 male), age range 13-88 years (mean 46.4), classified as normosmics. The Sniffin' Sticks Screening test is an olfactory identification multiple-forced-choice test widely used in Europe. The Italian subjects showed a high familiarity for the odorants of the Sniffin' Sticks Screening test, except for cloves, even if 89.3% of the subjects correctly identified cloves in the multiple (four) choice of answers. On the basis of the results obtained, it is suggested that the Sniffin' Sticks Screening test should be used in routine clinical practice to assess olfactory function in the Italian population.