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The Invisible Problem: The Incidence of Olfactory Impairment following Traumatic Brain Injury

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2015

Melanie Drummond ,
Jacinta Douglas  and
John Olver
Melanie Drummond*
Affiliation:
College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia Epworth Monash Rehabilitation Medicine Unit, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Epworth Rehabilitation, Epworth Health Care, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Jacinta Douglas
Affiliation:
College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia NHMRC Clinical Centre of Research Excellence in Brain Recovery, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Summer Foundation, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
John Olver
Affiliation:
Epworth Monash Rehabilitation Medicine Unit, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Epworth Rehabilitation, Epworth Health Care, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
*
Address for Correspondence: Melanie Drummond, Speech Pathologist/Project Coordinator, Epworth Rehabilitation Executive Team, 25 Burwood Road, Hawthorn, Victoria, 3122, Australia. E-mail: melanie.drummond@epworth.org.au. Phone: +011 61 039415 5733; Fax: +011 61 039415 5603.
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Abstract

Background and aims: As many as 50–60% of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) admitted to rehabilitation facilities may have olfactory impairment (OI). These incidence estimates are derived from studies conducted internationally and there is no comparable data available in the Australian context. The primary aim of this study was to identify the incidence of OI following TBI in a consecutive sample of adults admitted to the Epworth Hospital Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program in Victoria, Australia. A secondary aim was to investigate whether age, duration of posttraumatic amnesia (PTA) and presence of facial fractures made a significant contribution to the prediction of severity of OI.

Method: The sample comprised 134 adults (mean age 39.09 years, SD 18.36), the majority of whom had sustained moderate to severe injury (PTA mean 21.57 days, SD 18.78). OI was measured using the Pocket Smell Test (PST) and the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT).

Results: Seventy-three participants (54.48%) demonstrated OI on the PST whereas 89 (66.42%) demonstrated OI on the UPSIT. Age, PTA duration, and presence of facial fractures predicted 10.3% of the variance in severity of OI.

Conclusion: A substantial proportion of adults admitted for rehabilitation following TBI has OI. Accurate assessment and appropriate management of post-traumatic OI must be incorporated into rehabilitation programs.

Keywords

traumatic brain injurysmellolfactionrehabilitation
Type
Articles
Information
Brain Impairment , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , December 2015 , pp. 196 - 204
Copyright
Copyright © Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment 2015 

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