Development of Taiwan Smell Identification Test: a quick office-based smell screening test for Taiwanese.

BackgroundObjective smell tests not only identify levels of smelling ability but also provide information on changes in olfaction after treatment. Odor identification is strongly socially and culturally dependent; therefore, the odorants used in a smell identification test should be familiar to the test population. We developed this smell test for Taiwanese populations with two aims: the test odors should be familiar to Taiwanese and the test should be easily and quickly administered in a busy clinic.MethodsAdditives that are familiar to Taiwanese people were selected for this smell identification test. Subsequently, the test was validated with the traditional Chinese version of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (TC-UPSIT). Finally, this Taiwan Smell Identification Test (TWSIT) was implemented in daily clinical use, and cut-off points of “normosmia,” “hyposmia,” and “anosmia” were established.ResultsA total of 1000 subjects were included in the market survey to identify commonly rec...