Am J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg | Volume 2, Issue 9 | Research Article | Open Access

Improved Smell and Taste Dysfunction with Intranasal Theophylline

Robert I Henkin^* and Mona Abdelmeguid

Department of Molecular Nutrition and Sensory Disorders, The Taste and Smell Clinic, USA

^*Correspondance to: Robert I Henkin 

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Abstract

Purpose: There have been few studies which have demonstrated effective treatment of patients with smell loss (hyposmia). We have previously demonstrated improved hyposmia using oral theophylline in a long term study of a large patient group and using intranasal theophylline in a short term study in a small patient group. We now report hyposmic improvement with intranasal theophylline in a larger group of hyposmic patients for a more prolonged time period. Methods: Ninety-four patients with hyposmia were initially studied at The Taste and Smell Clinic in Washington, DC before and after treatment with 20 µg of intranasal theophylline delivered twice into each nostril once daily for two months to 12 months. Subjective responses, olfactometry and gustometry were obtained before and after treatment. Results: Subjective improvement in smell, flavor and taste function improved in 65% to 80% of patients with initial improvement occurring after two-four months of treatment with greater improvement occurring as treatment continued. Olfactometry results demonstrated significant improvement in smell function with threshold measurements in improved patients after 5 months to 8 months or 9 months to 12 months of treatment approximately two orders of magnitude lower (more sensitive) than their results prior to treatment. Conclusion: Daily use of intranasal theophylline improved smell, taste and flavor perception subjectively. Results of olfactometry demonstrate that smell function improved significantly. There were no systemic side effects with intranasal theophylline treatment.

Keywords:

Hyposmia; Hypogeusia; Theophylline; Smell loss; Taste loss; Flavor loss

Citation:

Henkin RI, Abdelmeguid M. Improved Smell and Taste Dysfunction with Intranasal Theophylline. Am J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2019; 2(9): 1070.