Systemic effects of intranasal steroid drops in patients with dysosmia

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the systemic effects of intranasal steroid drops in patients with dysosmia. Cases and Methods: Intranasal steroid drops were administered for 12 weeks to 23 patients with dysosmia, and their plasma cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) values were measured before and after treatment. Improvement in dysosmia was judged based on the standerd olfactory test and the patients' symptoms. Results: The post-treatment plasma cortisol levels ranged from 0.1 to 25.0μg/dl (5.4±5.9μg/dl), and the post-treatment plasma ACTH levels ranged from 5.0 to 55.0pg/ml (13.8±11.7pg/ml). After treatment, the 23 cases were divided into two groups: 14 cases (60.9%) with a decline in cortisol and/or ACTH level, and 9 patients (39.1%) with normal plasma cortisol and ACTH levels. Improvement in dysosmia was found in 4 patients (28.6%) in the former group and 4 patients (44.4%) in the latter group. The difference in percentage of patients who improved was not significant between the groups. Conclusions: We conclude that the direct topical effect of intranasal steroid drops on the olfactory mucosa may have been the principal reason for the improvement in the patients' dysosmia.