2.1 Subjects
This manuscript was prepared using the STROBE checklist, and medical records of patients who visited the smell and taste center of ****** University Hospital between October 2021 and February 2023 were reviewed. The research protocol was reviewed and found to be in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration and was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of ********University Hospital. The IRB authorized the exemption of getting informed consent from the enrolled subjects.
The inclusion criteria were adult patients who visited our clinic with a complaint of olfactory or gustatory dysfunction and performed all the psychophysical olfactory and chemical gustatory function tests and the subjective questionnaire regarding their symptoms.
The exclusion criteria were patients whose subjective recognition of olfactory or gustatory dysfunction could not be identified, who underwent sinonasal surgery, or who had immunological diseases such as malignancy. Patients previously diagnosed with cognitive dysfunction were also excluded from this study.