The Odor Stick Identification Test for the Japanese (OSIT-J): clinical suitability for patients suffering from olfactory disturbance.

Various olfaction tests are used clinically in the world. In Japan, T&T olfactometry and the intravenous olfaction test, the Alinamin® test, are used as a standardized olfactory test in otorhinolaryngology clinics (Zusho, 1983; Furukawa et al., 1988). In Western countries, the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), the Cross-cultural Smell Identification Test (CC-SIT) and Sniffin’ Sticks are used (Doty et al., 1984, 1996; Daum et al., 2000). While each test has some advantages, it has some drawbacks, especially when it is applied to the Japanese people (Kobayashi et al., 2004). To solve these problems, a new smell identification test, the Odor Stick Identification Test for the Japanese (OSIT-J), has been developed in Japan (Saito et al., 2003). We examined the suitability of the OSIT-J in patients with olfactory disturbance.