Examining the Influence of Chemosensation on Laryngeal Health and Disorders.
Carolyn K Novaleski, Richard L Doty, Alissa A Nolden and 3 others
PMID 33455853WHAT IT FOUND
Airborne chemical triggers like disinfectants and dust cause laryngeal breathing issues, but clinical testing lacks standardization.
Using established chemosensory tools can improve patient education and provocation testing reliability, though these methods are theoretical and not yet validated for treatment efficacy.
Key findings
01Inhaled odorants and irritants are common triggers for laryngeal-respiratory disorders, with occupational exposures accounting for 87% of reported cases in the literature.
02Current clinical provocation challenges are inconsistent and rarely standardized, making it difficult to replicate results or compare diagnoses across patients.
03Chemosensory science offers standardized stimuli and psychophysical testing methods that could improve the reliability of laryngeal assessments, but their clinical utility is not yet established.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The review is based on a small number of case reports and retrospective studies, which limits the strength of the evidence. The proposed applications of chemosensory testing to laryngeal disorders are conceptual and have not been validated in clinical trials. The authors acknowledge that no universal protocol exists for these new assessment methods and that their full clinical utility remains unknown.
The easy way to misread this
Do not implement standardized chemosensory provocation testing or psychophysical measures as evidence-based clinical tools. These methods are proposed by the authors as potential improvements to current inconsistent practices, but the review explicitly states that their full clinical utility remains to be known.