Does odour cross contamination alter olfactory thresholds in certain odours?
OBJECTIVE
To determine if 1) there is cross contamination between odours tested on thresholds achieved, 2) a delay period is necessary between testing different odours.


METHODS
Thirty-five subjects underwent threshold testing with phenethyl alcohol (PEA), ethylmercaptan (MER), acetic acid (ACE), and eucalyptol (EUC) using serial logarithmic dilutions. On separate occasions subjects were exposed to high concentrations of PEA, ACE and EUC in random order for two minutes, and thresholds for all four odours re-tested. Pre- and post-high concentration odour thresholds were compared.


RESULTS
Exposure to high concentrations of PEA, ACE and EUC does not alter olfactory thresholds by more than 10-2 for the other odours except in specific circumstances with ACE and EUV.


CONCLUSIONS
There is limited cross contamination with ACE and EUC, which is avoided by specifying presentation order as: PEA, MER, ACE, EUC. Odours PEA, MER, ACE and EUC are recommended for olfactory testing.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, United Kingdom. julesgaskin@hotmail.com
J A
JA
Gaskin
A M
AM
Robinson
C M
CM
Philpott
P C
PC
Goodenough
A
A
Clark
G E
GE
Murty
D019342:Acetic Acid; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003511:Cyclohexanols; D000077591:Eucalyptol; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D039821:Monoterpenes; D009812:Odorants; D010626:Phenylethyl Alcohol; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds
D003511:Cyclohexanols; D039821:Monoterpenes; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; C007638:ethanethiol; D010626:Phenylethyl Alcohol; D019342:Acetic Acid; D000077591:Eucalyptol