A systematic review of therapeutic options for non-conductive olfactory dysfunction

Background: Olfactory dysfunction affects a significant proportion of the population but appears to be more common in the elderly population (>20% of adults over 60 years old). Unfortunately, many sufferers face an apparent lack of therapeutic options when consulting with medical professionals. Method: We searched various electronic medical databases for the treatment of non-conductive olfactory dysfunction. After careful review of the abstracts and the full articles, we included publications that fulfilled our inclusion criteria and analysed the results. Results: A total of 38 publications were included in our review including 6 randomised control trials, 14 cohort studies and 18 observational studies. Conclusion: Olfactory training appears to improve non-conductive olfactory dysfunction irrespective of the aetiology. Steroids appear to have some benefit, but this may be aetiology dependent and Vitamin A and sodium citrate have shown some promise. High quality randomised control trials are still required to determine their place in managing this patient population.