Methods: A quasi-experimental trial study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of nasal rinsing between two groups. The intervention group was instructed to perform nasal rinsing during ablution, while the control group was not asked to do nasal rinsing. Both groups were provided progress diaries to record the symptoms of respiratory tract infection, including cough, rhinorrhoea, nasal blockage, fever, and sore throat, as well as thick phlegm, shortness of breath, epistaxis, and changes in sense of smell. The groups were also instructed to record any visits to clinics for their symptoms throughout their stay in Makkah for the Hajj ritual.
Results: The study showed that nasal rinsing significantly reduced the symptoms of cough, rhinorrhoea, and nasal blockage. The intervention group had an increased number of visits to healthcare facilities for treatment, when compared to those of the control group. There were no significant differences in the groups regarding the symptoms of fever and sore throat.
Conclusion: Nasal rinsing can be included as part of intervention methods that include vaccination and the use of a face mask. Nasal rinsing can be easily practiced by the pilgrims, since it is a Sunnah act in ablution, which is an integral element of Muslims' daily life.
METHODS: This is a prospective cross-sectional study conducted at the University Malaya Medical Centre. A total of 30 patients who have undergone total laryngectomy were assessed objectively using the Sniffin' Sticks test and compared against normal age-matched Malaysians. Subsequently, they also filled out the modified Questionnaire on Olfactory Disorders. Correlations of patient demographics, disease and treatment variables against olfactory outcomes were conducted.
RESULTS: All subjects suffered olfactory impairment, with 66.7% of them being anosmic after total laryngectomy. The Sniffin' Sticks test demonstrated a statistically significant difference between laryngectomees and the normal age-matched Malaysian population in all three subtests for odor threshold, discrimination and identification. 37% of patients developed olfactory adaptive methods, which resulted in higher olfactory scores and a better quality of life. There were no patient demographics, disease or treatment variables associated with a poorer olfactory outcome identified.
CONCLUSION: Olfactory impairment should not be overlooked among patients after total laryngectomy. Although as many as a third of patients developed some sort of olfactory adaptive behavior, early rehabilitation should be integrated into the multidisciplinary rehabilitation program after total laryngectomy.
METHOD: This study included a total of 44 participants without subjective olfactory disturbances. Lavender and normal saline were used as the olfactory stimulant and control. Electroencephalogram was recorded and power spectra were analysed by the spectral analysis for each alpha, beta, delta, theta and gamma bandwidth frequency upon exposure to lavender and normal saline independently.
RESULTS: The oscillatory brain activities in response to the olfactory stimulant indicated that the lavender smell decreased the beta activity in the left frontal (F7 electrode) and central region (C3 electrode) with a reduction in the gamma activity in the right parietal region (P4 electrode) (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: Olfactory stimulants result in changes of electrical brain activities in different brain regions, as evidenced by the topographical brain map and spectra analysis of each brain wave.
METHOD: For this purpose, we employ fractal theory and analyze the variations of fractal dimension of GSR and EEG signals when subjects are exposed to different olfactory stimuli in the form of pleasant odors.
RESULTS: Based on the obtained results, the complexity of GSR signal changes with the complexity of EEG signal in case of different stimuli, where by increasing the molecular complexity of olfactory stimuli, the complexity of EEG and GSR signals increases. The results of statistical analysis showed the significant effect of stimulation on variations of complexity of GSR signal. In addition, based on effect size analysis, fourth odor with greatest molecular complexity had the greatest effect on variations of complexity of EEG and GSR signals.
CONCLUSION: Therefore, it can be said that human skin reaction changes with the variations in the activity of human brain. The result of analysis in this research can be further used to make a model between the activities of human skin and brain that will enable us to predict skin reaction to different stimuli.
Materials and Methods: The odorant descriptors and distractors of the original version of Sniffin' Sticks were translated into Malay language. It was then tested for familiarity and identifiability in 30 normosmic subjects. The descriptors were replaced until the familiarity of all descriptors and identification rates of odorants achieved ≥ 70%. The validity of the new cultural-adapted version was tested in 60 hypo-anosmic subjects and 60 normosmic subjects with Student t-test. The test-retest reliability was evaluated after two weeks with interclass correlation.
Results: Two odorant descriptors and nine distractors achieved familiarity <70% (13.3% - 66.7%) and were replaced. Another three culturally inappropriate distractors were also replaced. The mean score among the healthy subjects was significantly higher than the subject with smell dysfunction [13.7 (1.12) and 7.3 (3.42); t = 7.24 (df = 34.23), P<0.001]. The coefficient of correlation (r) between test and retest scores was 0.93 (P<0.001).
Conclusion: The cultural adapted Malaysian version of Sniffin' Sticks smell identification test is valid and has high test-retest reliability. This is the first smell identification test validated in Malaysia. It is effective for evaluation of olfactory function in local population.