ENT Department, Regional Hospital West Jutland, Holstebro, Denmark.
Brain Behav. 2021 Apr;11(4):e02071. doi: 10.1002/brb3.2071. Epub 2021 Feb 16.
Approximately five percent of the general population are suffering from taste disorders. Usually, subjective loss of taste is caused by smell disorders; thus, isolated loss of the sense of taste is relatively rare. Despite the influence on quality of life, isolated taste disorders (ITD) are sparsely represented in literature and clinical research. In particular, there is need for sufficient diagnostic and treatment algorithms. Aim of study is to add further information to the sparse literature on ITD and suggest an appropriate diagnostic algorithm for ITD.
We present a retrospective study on patients with ITD diagnosed at the Flavour clinic, ENT department, Regional Hospital West Jutland, between 2017 and 2020. All patients underwent a thorough rhinolaryngological and otoneurologic examination, including olfactory and gustatory assessment, and a wide spectrum of biochemical, microbiological, and radiological examinations.
In total, 522 patients referred due to smell and/or taste disorders, 423 (81%) complained of a subjective taste disorder, only 19 (3.4%) patients were diagnosed with ITD. According to etiology, the patients were categorized in following groups: medicine-related (25%), mixed (21%), iatrogenic (21%), idiopathic (11%), radiotherapy-related (11%), and autoimmune/inflammatory (11%). Based on etiology, individualized treatment was recommended with very discouraging results.
Diagnostics of taste disorders is a delicate and expertise demanding task. The mechanisms underlying isolated loss of taste are heterogeneous. ENT and otoneurologic examination, and specific olfactory and gustatory testing are required in all patients, whereas biochemical, microbiological, and radiological examinations are only necessary on an individual basis.
大约有 5%的普通人群患有味觉障碍。通常，主观味觉丧失是由嗅觉障碍引起的；因此，孤立的味觉丧失相对较少见。尽管味觉障碍会影响生活质量，但孤立性味觉障碍（ITD）在文献和临床研究中很少见。特别是，需要有充分的诊断和治疗方案。本研究的目的是为 ITD 文献提供更多信息，并提出一种合适的 ITD 诊断方案。
我们回顾性研究了 2017 年至 2020 年在西部日德兰大区医院耳鼻喉科味觉科诊断为 ITD 的患者。所有患者均接受了彻底的鼻咽喉和耳神经科检查，包括嗅觉和味觉评估，以及广泛的生化、微生物和影像学检查。
共有 522 例因嗅觉和/或味觉障碍就诊的患者，其中 423 例（81%）主诉有主观味觉障碍，仅有 19 例（3.4%）患者被诊断为 ITD。根据病因，患者分为以下几组：药物相关（25%）、混合性（21%）、医源性（21%）、特发性（11%）、放疗相关（11%）和自身免疫/炎症性（11%）。根据病因，建议进行个体化治疗，但结果令人沮丧。
味觉障碍的诊断是一项精细且需要专业知识的任务。孤立性味觉丧失的机制是异质的。所有患者均需进行耳鼻喉科和耳神经科检查，以及特定的嗅觉和味觉测试，而生化、微生物和影像学检查仅需根据个体需要进行。
