The Effect of Chinese Herbal Medicine as an Adjuvant Therapy in the Treatment of Traumatic Anosmia

The Effect of Chinese Herbal Medicine(Tailored Guizhi Decoction) as an Adjuvant Therapy in the Treatment of Traumatic Anosmia

Objective: To investigate the effect of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of traumatic anosmia.

Methods: Patients with a clear history of loss of smell after head injury, and whose phenyl ethyl alcohol (PEA) odor detection threshold remained -1 after treatment with steroid, zinc, and olfactory training (OT) for one month, were included in this study between September of 2018 and November of 2020. They were randomly divided into 2 groups, with patients in the CHM group taking CHM (tailored Guizhi decoction) and performing OT, and those in the OT group receiving OT only for 6 months. After 3 months' and 6 months' treatment, the olfactory function was evaluated by both the PEA threshold test and the traditional Chinese version of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT-TC). Magnetic resonance imaging was performed to measure the volume of olfactory bulbs after 6 months' treatment.

Inclusion Criteria:

• a clear history of loss of smell after an episode of head injury
• PEA threshold was -1, which is assumed to be anosmic

Exclusion Criteria:

• One month later, they received birhinal and unirhinal PEA threshold tests. Any patient whose birhinal or unirhinal threshold was below -1 was excluded from the study.