No abstract available.
Dysgeusia ; Infarction

The authors report a case of post-tonsillectomy dysgeusia and discuss the pathogenesis, diagnostics, as well as treatment options done in several reported cases. A 37-year-old man who was diagnosed with recurrent tonsillitis underwent bilateral palatine tonsillectomy, and on the second post-operative day, post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage ensued which required emergency hemostasis at the operating room. Intra-operative findings include active bleeding on the left tongue base, wherein hemostasis was achieved via electrodissection. After the procedure, patient noted a disturbance to taste that persisted for several months. Dysgeusia is an unusual complication of tonsillectomy, occurring in 0.3% to 9% of cases.
Tonsillectomy ; dysgeusia

Humans ; Taste/physiology* ; Dysgeusia ; Nose Diseases ; Nose

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: After bilateral mastoidectomy, taste change is common because of injury to chorda tympani nerve. We aimed to understand about the appropriate interval of sequential bilateral mastoidectomy. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Retrospective review was carried out for 25 patients who underwent sequential bilateral mastoidectomy from March 2004 to November 2011. RESULTS: Among the 25 patients, there were 19 patients whose chorda tympani nerve was injured after bilateral mastoidectomy, and eight of those 19 patients complained of taste disturbance. The rates of dysfunction according to operation interval were within 6 month (55%, 5/9), between 6 and 12 months (33%, 2/6), and above 12 months (10%, 1/10). Compared to canal wall up mastoidectomy, for canal wall down mastoidectomy, taste disturbance was more common (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: The result supports that at least 6 months interoperative period for bilateral chronic otitis media may be needed to avoid taste disturbance. A further large study may validate this result.
Chorda Tympani Nerve ; Dysgeusia ; Humans ; Otitis Media ; Retrospective Studies

Taste is a critical component of a person's overall sense of well-being and quality of life. Loss of taste interferes with pleasure derived from food and food-related activities. Clinically, taste disorders are less common than smell disorders and therefore the work-up and understanding of taste disorders are limited. Taste is typically ignored by otolaryngologists, even though some otolaryngologic operative procedures compromise the functioning of this sense. Long-lasting postoperative dysgeusia is less frequent but has significant consequences on patients' quality of life, with some cases leading to medicolegal issues. Many drugs can affect the patient's sense of taste and contribute significantly to the morbidity of the associated illness. This report provides a brief overview of iatrogenic taste disorders and emphasizes the need for increased awareness among clinicians regarding these problems.
Dysgeusia ; Iatrogenic Disease ; Olfaction Disorders ; Pleasure ; Quality of Life ; Surgical Procedures, Operative ; Taste Disorders ; Tonsillectomy

BACKGROUND: A clinical trial was done to evaluate the antihypertensive efficacy and side effects of captopril(Capril(R)), an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension. METHOD: Captopril was given 25-50mg a day to 46 patients(mean age : 51.3+/-8.9 years, 21 males and 25 females) for 8 weeks. RESULT: The blood pressure dropped significantly in 2 weeks and well maintained throughout 8 weeks of study period(p<0.01). The mean pressure drop was 14.4/8mmHg at 8 weeks without any changes of heart rate. The blood pressure was not dropped in 13 cases(28.3%). There were no significant changes in CBC, urinalysis and blood chemistry(sugar, lipids, electrolytes, creatinine, protein, albumin, AST and ALT) during this trial. The side effects were observed in 20 cases(43.5%). The most frequent was cough(19 cases, 413%) and the others were dysgeusia, dry eyes and edema in each respectively. CONCLUSION: Captopril(Capril(R)) monotherapy with 25-50mg a day regimen was effective in patient with mild to moderate essential hypertension, but somewhat high episodes of cough were observed in this trial.
Blood Pressure ; Captopril ; Cough ; Creatinine ; Dysgeusia ; Edema ; Electrolytes ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Male ; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A ; Urinalysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Taste disorders have not received sufficient attention by otolaryngologists and only a few studies have documented the clinical characteristics of taste disorders. We therefore analyzed the characteristics of patients with taste disorders who visited our Taste and Smell Clinic over a 3-year period. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Sixty patients with taste disorders were investigated. The efficacy of treatment was evaluated according to the age, sex, duration of symptom, cause, and severity of taste disorder. RESULTS: Sixty percent of patients visited the clinic within 6 months of the onset of decrease in taste sensation. Multiple etiology was more common than single etiology. Taste disorder due to olfactory disorder was the most frequent etiology, followed by drug induced taste disorder and taste disorder due to zinc deficiency. Sixty percent of the patients experienced improvement of the taste abnormality. The efficacy of treatment decreased with increasing severity of taste disorder at the initial visit. CONCLUSION: Careful history taking and physical examination are needed for determination of the cause of any taste abnormality. The site and severity of dysgeusia should be determined through the chemical and electrical taste threshold test. Treatment should direct toward the causative abnormality, if possible.
Dysgeusia ; Humans ; Physical Examination ; Sensation ; Smell ; Taste Disorders ; Taste Threshold ; Zinc

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: During middle ear surgery, surgeons manipulate the chorda tympani nerve (CTN) at various degrees and warn the post-operative taste changes to patients preoperatively. The purpose of this study is to assess how many patients suffer from taste disturbance after surgery and the characteristics of their disease factors and surgical factors in patients complaining of it. In addition, it was designed to evaluate the clinical availability of electrogustometry (EGM)compared with subjective taste symptoms. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: One hundred thirty-one patients underwent middle ear surgery. Patients were divided to three groups, only tympanoplasty, tympano-ossiculoplasty without mastoidectomy and tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy. They were analysed by operative findings of CTN preserved, stretched, cut. The CTN function was measured at one day before surgery and one month after surgery by EGM. Taste questionnaires were given to all patients before and after surgery for one year. The results of EGM and questionnaires were compared with each other. RESULTS: In pre-operative EGM results of unilateral surgery, the lesion side of tongue had more elevated threshold of EGM than the contralateral side. In the post-operative EGM, any statistical factor was not significant and EGM results was not correlated with subjective symptoms. The results of the test questionnaraires was that thirty-three patients (25%) reported taste change. In tympanoplasty-preserved CTN group, more patients suffered from taste change than mastoidedctomy-cut CTN group. Symptoms were decreased taste sensation, dysgeusia, and decreased general sensation of tongue. Subjective recovery time was on the average of 2.7 months (two weeks to one year) after surgery. CONCLUSION: EGM was not correlated with subjective symptoms after surgery. Iatrogenic CTN injury in advanced middle ear infection may not cause taste disturbance. Surgeons should have efforts to preserve CTN in even mild middle ear diseases.
Chorda Tympani Nerve ; Diterpenes ; Dysgeusia ; Ear, Middle ; Humans ; Otitis Media ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Sensation ; Tongue ; Tympanoplasty

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Currently, the changes of taste sensation after unilateral injury of chorda tympani nerve during middle ear surgery remains unclear, particularly in objective methods, like threshold to each taste stimulus. This study aims to evaluate the objective changes of taste threshold according to the degrees of injury of chorda tympani nerve. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 36 patients who underwent middle ear surgery, the degrees of injury were described as "intact", "stretched" and "sacrificed". The taste threshold to citric acid, NaCl, and sucrose were measured preoperatively, and 1 week, 1 month, 3 months after surgery. Subjective changes of taste sensation were questioned together. The amount of changes in threshold according to the degree of injury were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: There were no significant differences of threshold according to the degrees of injury in each taste. Several patients documented subjective taste changes, such as hypogeusia and parageusia. But there were no relationship between subjective and objective findings. CONCLUSION: These results suggest the probability of some compensatory mechanism after unilateral injury of chorda tympani nerve. There might be some discrepancy between taste threshold and real-world taste sensation.
Ageusia ; Chorda Tympani Nerve* ; Citric Acid ; Dysgeusia ; Ear, Middle* ; Humans ; Sensation ; Sucrose ; Taste Threshold

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Postoperative taste changes after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) is regarded as an unusual and minor complication. This study aims to evaluate the objective changes of taste threshold according to time course and subjective symptoms change. MATERIALS AND METHOD: With 45 patients who underwent UPPP and 35 patients who underwent nasal surgery as control group, we have prospectively studied postoperative taste changes using a questionnaire, and an electrogustometer (EGM) with regard to symptoms at 7th, 28th days after the surgery. EGM was measured at 5 areas. Also, we have checked pre-operatively about the serum level of zinc. RESULTS: With EGM, the threshold of taste was increased at 7th days after the surgery (p<0.05), but recovered 28th days after the surgery at the posterior part of the tongue in the UPPP group. There were no significant changes in subjective taste dysfunction, smell dysfunction, tongue sensory abnormality, and dysgeusia. CONCLUSION: Taste changes after UPPP was transient and they disappeared within the 1st postoperative month. There were no patients who complained of subjective taste dysfunction, dysgeusia, tongue sensory abnormality after UPPP.
Dysgeusia ; Humans ; Nasal Surgical Procedures ; Prospective Studies ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; Smell ; Taste Threshold ; Tongue