Korean J Otorhinolaryngol-Head Neck Surg.  2025 Mar;68(3):105-112. 10.3342/kjorl-hns.2024.00073.

Etiology, Clinical Characteristics, and Effect of Treatment of Patients With Taste Disorders

• Park HJ
• Shin SH
• Ye MK

• KMID: 2565891
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3342/kjorl-hns.2024.00073

Abstract

Background and Objectives
The sense of taste has a crucial role in maintaining good health, and this is why taste disturbance can negatively impact one’s quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the etiologies, clinical characteristics, and effects of treatment in patients with taste disturbances.
Subjects and Method
A total of 160 patients with taste disorders, who visited our Smell and Taste Clinic from January 2021 to December 2022, were enrolled. All patients underwent chemical and electrical taste threshold tests, olfactory function tests, questionnaires including medical and dental history, and blood tests. The etiologies and clinical features of taste disorders were assessed and treatment was directed toward causative abnormalities. Factors affecting the improvement rates after treatment were evaluated.
Results
Taste disorder due to olfactory disorder was the most frequent etiology, followed by laryngopharyngeal reflux, head trauma, and drug-induced. In many cases, there was a discrepancy in the severity of taste between the complaints reported by patients and the results of taste threshold tests. After treatment, 115 patients showed improvement in their taste function, and the improvement rates were significantly correlated with the age and etiologies of the taste disorders.
Conclusion
Careful history taking and accurate chemosensory testing were essential to establish the etiologies, nature, degree, and veracity of a patient’s complaint of taste disturbance. Appropriate treatments according to the etiologies allowed recovery of taste function in 71.9% of patients.

Keyword

Ageusia; Dysgeusia; Prognosis; Taste disorders; Taste threshold