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Anesthesia affects olfaction and chemosensory event-related potentials.
Antje Welge-Lüssen1, Claudia Wille, Bertold Renner
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Basel-Kantonsspital, Petersgraben 4, CH-4031 Basel, Switzerland. awelge@uhbs.ch
Summary
Local anesthesia applied intranasally reduced self-reported smell perception but did not cause complete temporary anosmia (loss of smell). Measurable olfactory function can remain despite anesthesia influencing self-assessment.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Otolaryngology
- Sensory Science
Background:
- Olfactory and trigeminal systems are crucial for odorant perception.
- Understanding their interaction is key to understanding smell.
- Local anesthesia's impact on olfaction requires detailed investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of local anesthesia on human olfaction.
- To determine if intranasal anesthesia can induce temporary anosmia.
- To correlate self-assessment with objective measures of olfactory function.
Main Methods:
- 20 volunteers received intranasal tetracaine or lidocaine.
- Olfactory and chemosomatosensory event-related potentials (OERPs and CSSERPs) were measured.
- Self-assessment and psychometric tests were conducted before and after anesthesia.
Main Results:
- Anesthesia reduced self-assessed olfaction across all tested locations.
- Anesthesia in the middle meatus altered olfactory thresholds and discrimination.
- Complete temporary anosmia was only achieved with lidocaine in the olfactory cleft.
Conclusions:
- Intranasal anesthesia with a swab reduced self-reported olfaction but not to the point of anosmia.
- Objective measures like OERPs and CSSERPs showed changes concordant with self-assessment.
- Achieving temporary anosmia via local anesthesia is challenging but feasible.