Case Report

Effect of Therapeutic Pulsed Ultrasound on Smell Dysfunction: A Case Study

Abstract

Introduction: Olfactory dysfunction is one of the main symptoms of Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS) caused by bacteria in the form of biofilm. Therapeutic Pulsed Ultrasound (TPU), besides its anti-inflammatory effects has the ability to disintegrate the strong walls of biofilms (community of bacteria), thus help relieve the symptoms of CRS, one of the major symptoms of which is olfactory dysfunction.
Case Description: A 42-year-old man with CRS whose olfactory sense had gradually declined over two years, underwent TPU for ten sessions (three days a week) on his maxillary and frontal sinuses. Findings of CT scan and the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20) questionnaire were employed to assess the severity of the symptoms. Moreover, the Iran Smell Identification Test (Iran-SIT) was used to measure the degree of olfactory dysfunction. Smell dysfunction and the severity of symptom in CRS relatively improved according to SNOT-20 and ISIT scales by 80% and 41%, respectively. It appears that TPU can improve the olfactory dysfunction and other symptoms caused by CRS.

Holbrook EH, Leopold DA. An updated review of clinical olfaction. Current Opinion in Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery. 2006; 14(1):23-8. [DOI:10.1097/01.moo.0000193174.77321.39] [PMID]
Croy I, Hummel T. Olfaction as a marker for depression. Journal of Neurology. 2017; 264(4):631-8. [DOI:10.1007/s00415-016-8227-8] [PMID]
Gaines AD. Anosmia and hyposmia. Allergy and Asthma Proceedings. 2010; 31(3):185-9. [DOI:10.2500/aap.2010.31.3357] [PMID]
Costerton JW, Stewart PS, Greenberg EP. Bacterial biofilms: A common cause of persistent infections. Science. 1999; 284(5418):1318-22. [DOI:10.1126/science.284.5418.1318] [PMID]
Dunne WM. Bacterial adhesion: Seen any good biofilms lately? Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 2002; 15(2):155-66. [DOI:10.1128/CMR.15.2.155-166.2002] [PMID] [PMCID]
Gupta D, Gulati A, Singh I, Tekur U. Endoscopic, radiological, and symptom correlation of olfactory dysfunction in pre- and postsurgical patients of chronic rhinosinusitis. Chemical Senses. 2014; 38(8):705-10. [DOI:10.1093/chemse/bju042] [PMID]
Jafek BW, Moran DT, Eller PM, Rowley JC, Jafek TB. Steroid-dependent anosmia. Laryngoscope. 1987; 111(2):200-3. [DOI: 10.1097/00005537-200102000-00002] [PMID]
Raviv JR, Kern RC. Chronic sinusitis and olfactory dysfunction. Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America. 2004; 37(6):1143-57. [DOI:10.1016/j.otc.2004.06.003] [PMID]
Bendouah Z, Barbeau J, Hamad WA, Desrosiers M. Biofilm formation by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa is associated with an unfavorable evolution after surgery for chronic sinusitis and nasal polyposis. Otolaryngol-Head and Neck Surgery. 2006; 134(6):991-6. [DOI:10.1016/j.otohns.2006.03.001] [PMID]
Ansari NN, Naghdi S, Farhadi M, Jalaie S. A preliminary study into the effect of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound on chronic maxillary and frontal sinusitis. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice. 2007; 23(4):211-8. [DOI:10.1080/09593980701209360] [PMID]
Stanbury RM, Graham EM. Systemic corticosteroid therapy-side effects and their management. British Journal of Ophthalmology. 1998; 82(6):704-8. [PMID] [PMCID]
Young D, Morton R, Bartley J. Therapeutic ultrasound as treatment for chronic rhinosinusitis: Preliminary observations. Journal of Laryngol Ortology. 2010; 124(5):495-99. [DOI:10.1017/S0022215109992519]
Ansari NN, Naghdi S, Farhadi M. Physiotherapy for chronic rhinosinusitis: The use of continuous ultrasound. International Journal of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation. 2013; 14(7):306-10. [doi:10.12968/ijtr.2007.14.7.23837]
Bartley J, Young D. Ultrasound as a treatment for chronic rhinosinusitis. Medical Hypotheses. 2009; 73(1):15-7. [DOI:10.1016/j.mehy.2008.12.049]
Naghdi S, Ansari NN, Farhadi M. A clinical trial on the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with continuous ultrasound. Journal of Physical Therapy Science. 2008; 20(4):233-8. [DOI:10.1589/jpts.20.233]
Ansari Fathali M, Naghdi S, Hasson S. Effect of pulsed ultrasound on chronic rhinosinusitis: A case report. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice. 2010; 26(8):558-63. [doi:10.3109/09593981003628153 ][PMID]
Ansari NN, Naghdi S, Farhadi M. Therapeutic ultrasound as a treatment for chronic sinusitis. Physiotherapy Research International. 2004; 9(3):144-6. [doi:10.1002/pri.315]
Ansari NN, Fathali M, Naghdi S, Hasson S. Effect of pulsed ultrasound on chronic rhinosinusitis: A case report. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice. 2010; 26(8):558-63. [DOI:10.3109/09593981003628153]
Taherkhani S, Moztarzadeh F, Mehdizadeh Seraj J, Hashemi Nazari SS, Taherkhani F, Gharehdaghi J, et al. Iran Smell Identification Test (Iran-SIT): A modified version of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) for Iranian population. Chemosensory Perception. 2015; 8(4):183-91. [DOI:10.1007/s12078-015-9192-9]
Files
IssueVol 12 No 1 (2018) QRcode
SectionCase Report(s)
Keywords
Smell dysfunction, Ultrasound, Therapeutic pulsed ultrasound, Sinusitis
Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Nazem A, Naghdi S, Nakhostin Ansari N, Fathali M. Effect of Therapeutic Pulsed Ultrasound on Smell Dysfunction: A Case Study. jmr. 2018;12(1):71-78.