J Appl Biomed 23:57-62, 2025 | DOI: 10.32725/jab.2025.006

The importance of olfactory and trigeminal event-related potentials (OERPs/TERPs) in the assessment of olfactory function in subjects with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis

Karla Janoušková^{1, 2}, Oleksii Vorobiov^{1, 2}, Kristýna Mamiňák^{1, 2}, David Kalfeřt^{3, 4}, Libor Vašina^{2, 5}, Petra Dytrych^{6, 7}, Nikola Pastorková⁸, Jiří Hložek^{1, 2}, Daniel Kovář^{1, 2}, Jan Vodička^{9, 10}, Václav Masopust^{4, 11}, Jaromír Astl^{1, 2}, Richard Holý^{1, 2, *}

¹ Military University Hospital Prague, Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Maxillofacial Surgery, Prague, Czech Republic

² Charles University, Third Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic

³ University Hospital Motol, Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Prague, Czech Republic

⁴ Charles University, First Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic

⁵ Military Hospital Brno, Department of Neurology, Brno, Czech Republic

⁶ University Hospital Motol, Department of Ear, Nose and Throat, Prague, Czech Republic

⁷ Charles University, Second Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic

⁸ Military University Hospital Prague, Department of Neurology, Prague, Czech Republic

⁹ Regional Hospital Pardubice, Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Pardubice, Czech Republic.

¹⁰ University of Pardubice, Faculty of Health Studies, Pardubice, Czech Republic.

¹¹ First Faculty of Medicine Charles University and Military University Hospital Prague Department of Neurosurgery and Neurooncology, Prague, Czech Republic

Objectives: Smell impairment (SI) is a well-known symptom of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). The aim of study was to analyze olfactory and trigeminal event-related potentials (OERPs/TERPs) and psychophysical smell tests in subjects with CRSwNP, and its potential role in clinical practice.

Methods: Prospective study included 57 subjects. Two investigated groups with CRSwNP and one control group. Group I (n = 20) contained subjects without CRSwNP before septoplasty. Group II (n = 18) contained subjects with CRSwNP without therapy. Group III (n = 19) contained subjects with CRSwNP after intranasal corticosteroid therapy. Sniffin stick identification smell test and OERPs/TERPs were performed in all subjects.

Results: According to the psychophysical smell test, SI was detected in 65% of subjects with CRSwNP. In the control Group I (without CRSwNP), the absence of OERPs was 5.0%, whilethe mean absence rate in Groups II, III (with CRSwNP) was 8.1%. The highest percentage of absence of OERPs was registered in Group II (11.1%). Absence of TERPs was detected in an average of 21.6% of CRSwNP subjects. Group III showed the highest percentage of absence of TERPs (32%). In the control Group I, TERPs were absent in 0% of subjects.

Conclusion: CRSwNP significantly impairs olfactory function compared to patients without CRSwNP, Absence of TERPs was detected in an average of 21.6% of CRSwNP subjects versus healthy controls (0%). Presence of TERPs appears to be a predictor of preservation of olfactory function.

Keywords: Chronic rhinosinusitis; Olfactory dysfunction; OERPs; Smell test; Sniffin stick test; TERPs

Grants and funding:

This study was supported by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic in cooperation with the Czech Health Research Council under project No. NU 22-09-00493. Our prospective study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Military University Hospital Prague - Reference Number 108/16-49/2021 (Project NU 22-09-00493). All patients signed an informed consent form.

Conflicts of interest:

The author of this article declares that he/she has no conflict of interest in relation to the topic, development and publication of this article. Neither the creation nor the publication of this article was supported by any pharmaceutical company. This declaration also applies to all co-authors.

Received: April 1, 2025; Revised: May 20, 2025; Accepted: June 3, 2025; Prepublished online: June 19, 2025; Published: June 27, 2025  Show citation