Effects of total laryngectomy on olfactory function, health-related quality of life, and communication: a 3-year follow-up study

Table 2 Score changes from pretreatment (baseline) to 36 months posttreatment in study population and control patients

	Mean (95% CI) Score
Characteristic	Study population (n = 18)					Controls (n = 18)	p study/control
	Baseline	6 mo	p	36 mo	p
SOIT score^a	7.2 (5.1–9.2)	9.4 (7.6–11.3)	.03	9.5 (7.7–11.3)	.003	13.7 (13.1–14.3)	< .001
Patients' self-estimation^b
Present olfaction	25.9 (11.7–40.2)	63.7 (52.3–75.2)	< .001	55.6 (42.5–68.6)	< .001	76.5 (65.5–87.4)	.007
Present gustation	67.6 (51.2–84.0)	81.4 (69.7–93.1)	.04	78.7 (63.7–93.7)	.20	83.3 (76.6–90.1)	.36
QOTA^c
Taste	26.3 (24.3–28.4)	28.1 (25.9–30.3)	.01	27.2 (24.7–29.7)	.53	29.5 (28.2–30.8)	.09
Appetite	22.4 (20.7–24.1)	22.8 (21.0–24.7)	.26	23.1 (21.5–24.6)	.51	23.4 (22.3–24.6)	.72
POPS	7.9 (6.0–9.8)	9.4 (8.4–10.5)	.02	9.6 (8.2–10.9)	.03	12.8 (11.8–13.8)	< .001
Present sense of smell compared with pretreatment	5.4 (4.3–6.6)	7.4 (5.6–9.2)	.03	6.3 (4.9–7.8)	.06	10.0 (9.1–10.9)	< .001
Daily feelings of hunger	32.0 (30.2–33.8)	32.1 (30.5–33.7)	.79	32.1 (29.8–34.4)	.97	33.6 (31.8–35.4)	.67

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval;
^aSOIT, Scandinavian Odor-Identification Test. Score range, 11–16 for normosmia, 8–10 for hyposmia, and ≤ 7 for anosmia;
^bPatients' self-estimation; Score range, 0–100, where 0 corresponds to worst perceived smell and taste;
^c QOTA = Questionnaire on Olfaction, Taste and Appetite; Taste, 8 items, score range per item, 8 to 40; Appetite, 6 items, score range per item, 6 to 30; POPS, 3 items, score range per item, 3 to 15; Present sense of smell vs. preoperative, 3 items, score range per item 3 to 15; Daily feelings of hunger, 9 items, score range per item, 9 to 45. A low score indicates bad function or deterioration of these compared with the pretreatment situation.

ISSN: 1472-6815