Abstract
Introduction Smell plays an important role in the maintenance of health and quality of life of
the general population. Health workers with olfactory impairment may not be able to
help diagnose certain diseases, and subsequently increase the risk of hazardous events
and mortality among those affected. ‘Odor learning’ requires repeated experiences
with different smells to develop a discriminatory ability, and this is a process that
takes years. Because of that, physicians of certain medical specialities have better
odor detection than others.
Objective To study the olfactory performance and associated factors of otorhinolaryngology
residents compared with residents of different medical specialities in a representative
sample of a tertiary hospital.
Methods The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) was used to compare
olfactory performance. Clinical and epidemiological data were collected among 42 hospital
residents.
Results Otorhinolaryngology residents presented an average UPSIT score of 35.0, and the other
residents, a score of 32.8 (p = 0.02) Of all the residents, 40.5% showed some grade of olfactory impairment. Half
of the females students in the first year of residency showed olfactory dysfunction.
The multivariate analyses found age (p = 0.03; 95% confidence interval for β = 0.33) to be an independent predictor of the
UPSIT score.
Conclusion The present study demonstrated that otorhinolaryngology residents have greater olfactory
capacity compared with other residents. Future studies should explore the relevant
factors of olfactory impairment and its impact on quality of life in this population.
Keywords
olfactory test - dysosmia - residents - health workers
