Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Philipps-University, Baldingerstraße, 35033 Marburg, Germany.
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2012 Jan;269(1):179-86. doi: 10.1007/s00405-011-1691-y. Epub 2011 Jul 12.
Although a reduced olfactory/gustatory function affects patients in all parts of life, this problem has not received much attention in Wegener's granulomatosis (WG). The aim of this study was to assess the smell/taste function of WG patients. Demographic data of 16 WG patients (9 males, 7 females) were obtained. They all subjectively assessed their taste/smell function on visual analogue scale. Olfactory/gustatory functions of the patients were tested with 'Sniffin' Sticks and 'Taste' strips, respectively. The results were then compared with those from sex and age-matched control group (n = 16) and normative data. WG patients subjectively assessed their olfactory (p = 0.03) and gustatory (p = 0.02) function to be lower than control group. All the olfactory scores (odour identification, odour discrimination and threshold) in both genders were significantly below the scores in the control group. WG patients were hyposmic. For taste (total taste score, as well as scores for the qualities sweet, sour, salty and bitter), WG patients did not significantly differ from controls and were normogeusic. However, the gustatory scores showed the tendency of reduction as compared to the control group. In conclusion, WG patients truly suffer from olfactory/taste dysfunction, but this is worse with olfaction. It is, therefore, imperative that physicians should make their patients to be aware of these sensory dysfunctions and educate them on methods to cope with it for better quality of life.
尽管嗅觉/味觉功能下降会影响患者生活的各个方面，但韦格纳肉芽肿病（WG）患者的这一问题并未得到太多关注。本研究旨在评估 WG 患者的嗅觉/味觉功能。收集了 16 例 WG 患者（9 例男性，7 例女性）的人口统计学数据。他们均使用视觉模拟量表主观评估自己的味觉/嗅觉功能。使用“Sniffin' Sticks”和“Taste”条分别测试患者的嗅觉/味觉功能。然后将结果与性别和年龄匹配的对照组（n=16）和正常值进行比较。WG 患者主观评估其嗅觉（p=0.03）和味觉（p=0.02）功能较对照组差。所有性别患者的嗅觉评分（气味识别、气味辨别和阈值）均明显低于对照组。WG 患者嗅觉减退。对于味觉（总味觉评分以及甜、酸、咸和苦的评分），WG 患者与对照组无显著差异，味觉正常。然而，与对照组相比，味觉评分显示出下降的趋势。总之，WG 患者确实存在嗅觉/味觉功能障碍，但嗅觉障碍更严重。因此，医生应该让患者意识到这些感觉功能障碍，并教导他们应对这些障碍的方法，以提高生活质量。
