Olfactory function appears to be influenced by repeated odor stimulation. We conducted a nonrandomized, nonblinded, retrospective study of the impact of an 8-month period of olfactory training in patients with olfactory dysfunction. Our study population was made up of 46 adults-14 men and 32 women (mean age: 59.17 ± 13.25 yr)-with olfactory dysfunction of different etiologies (sinonasal: n = 15; post-upper-respiratory-tract infection [URTI]: n = 16; post-traumatic: n = 7; and idiopathic: n = 8). All patients had been previously treated without success with systemic or topical corticosteroids. For their training, patients exposed themselves to four different odors twice a day. Olfactory function was evaluated at baseline and again at 4 and 8 months, and results were quantified in the form of each patient's TDI (threshold, discrimination, and identification) score. Of the 46 patients, 28 had undergone olfactory training only, while the remaining 18 had received topical corticosteroids in addition to training. At study's end, the mean overall TDI score in the entire group increased by 4.09 points over baseline-a statistically significant increase (p = 0.01); this increase was mainly attributable to improvement in the identification component of the TDI, which increased by 2.51 points (p = 0.02). Among the 18 patients who received a topical corticosteroid in addition to training, the mean TDI increased by 6.83 points (p = 0.001), primarily because of improvements in the discrimination and identification components. The 28 patients who underwent olfactory training alone experienced a mean increase in the identification component of only 2.20 points (p = 0.14) after 8 months. Olfactory function in the post-URTI patients increased significantly at 4 months. We conclude that olfactory discrimination and identification can be enhanced by the addition of a topical corticosteroid to a program of defined, daily, short-term exposure to olfactory training.

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This study confirms the incidence of olfactory disorder in MS patients that has been reported in the literature. Interestingly, a significant correlation between orthonasal and retronasal OF testing was not shown. A higher incidence of gustatory dysfunction was shown and might serve as another potential marker for this disease.

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The reporting quality of publications of clinical trials can affect the quality of clinical decision-making. We systematically assessed the quality of publications of large multicenter trials evaluating immunosuppressive regimens in de novo kidney transplantation. Study quality, reporting quality and accessibility of the results of 63 publications were assessed independently by three blinded investigators using an instrument combining the Jadad scale with a list of reporting quality items. Study quality was rated with an average of only 2.3 (range 1-5) on the Jadad scale. Unblinded studies were reported in 68.3% of publications and follow-up longer than 12 months was reported for only 13 out of 50 studies. The reviewed publications fulfilled an average of 69.1% of the reporting quality criteria. Fifty-four percent of publications did not report both treated and biopsy-proven rejections. Whether reported graft survival was censored for death could not be determined for 27% of publications. Only a few publications gave confidence intervals (CIs) or stated whether additional analyses were pre-specified. Even the largest trials of immunosuppression in kidney transplantation show considerable quality deficits in their design and publication. Additional efforts are required of investigators, editors and sponsors to achieve maximum study and reporting quality.