The Usefulness of CC-SIT(Cross-Cultural Smell Identification Test) in Korea

Dhong, Hun Jong; Shin, Dong Bong; Kim, Byung Sik; Kang, Su Mi; Chung, Seung Kyu; Chu, Kwang Chol

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Many clinical and experimental methods have been developed to evaluate human olfactory function, but there is not a standard test which can be used clinically in Korea. CC-SIT (Cross-Cultural Smell Identification Test) is a smell identification test that consists of 12 items well known in most non-English-speaking cultures. So, authors evaluated the usefulness of CC-SIT in assessing olfactory function in Korea.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
One hundred ninety patients who visited clinics complaining of smell loss were categorized to 3 groups (mild hyposmia, moderate hyposmia, severe hyposmia) by questionnaire and 41 healthy subjects were chosen for the normal control group. CC-SIT and a smell threshold test was performed to both patients and controls. The statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA and the Pearson correlation method.
RESULTS
There were significant differences in the CC-SIT scores among 3 groups and the severity of hyposmia was correlated with the CC-SIT score. Also, the CC-SIT scores were correlated significantly with the smell threshold. In addition, the difference of familiarity among 12 items was observed. CONCLUSION: CC-SIT is a convenient, practical smell function test which can tell olfactory tunction loss and can he used clinically in Korea.