Objectives/Hypothesis Nasal disease, including chronic rhinosinusitis and allergic rhinitis, is a significant source of morbidity. Nasal irrigation has been used as an adjunctive treatment of sinonasal disease. However, despite an abundance of anecdotal reports, there has been little statistical evidence to support its efficacy. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of the use of pulsatile hypertonic saline nasal irrigation in the treatment of sinonasal disease. Study Design A prospective controlled clinical study. Methods Two hundred eleven patients from the University of California, San Diego (San Diego, CA) Nasal Dysfunction Clinic with sinonasal disease (including allergic rhinitis, aging rhinitis, atrophic rhinitis, and postnasal drip) and 20 disease‐free control subjects were enrolled. Patients irrigated their nasal cavities using hypertonic saline delivered by a Water Pik device using a commercially available nasal adapter twice daily for 3 to 6 weeks. Patients rated nasal disease–specific symptoms and completed a self‐administered quality of well‐being questionnaire before intervention and at follow‐up. Results Patients who used nasal irrigation for the treatment of sinonasal disease experienced statistically significant improvements in 23 of the 30 nasal symptoms queried. Improvement was also measured in the global assessment of health status using the Quality of Well‐Being scale. Conclusions Nasal irrigation is effective in improving symptoms and the health status of patients with sinonasal disease.

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Objectives-To determine if odor identification ability is associated with the 5-year incidence of cognitive impairment in a large population of older adults with normal cognition at baseline and if olfactory impairment contributes to the prediction of cognitive decline in a population.Design-Population-based longitudinal study. Setting-Beaver Dam, WI.Participants-1920 participants in the Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study (mean age = 66.9 years). Measurements-Olfaction was measured by the San Diego Odor Identification Test (SDOIT).Incident cognitive impairment was defined as a Mini-Mental State Exam Score (MMSE) < 24 or reported diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer's disease (AD) at the follow-up among people with MMSE ≥ 24 and no diagnosis of dementia or AD at baseline.Results-There was a significant association between olfactory impairment at baseline and the 5-year incidence of cognitive impairment (Odds Ratio (O.R.) = 6.62, 95% Confidence Interval (C.I.) = 4.36, 10.05). The association remained significant after adjusting for possible confounders (O.R. = 3.72, 95% C.I. = 2.31, 5.99). The Positive Predictive Value of the SDOIT was 15.9%, the Negative Predictive Value was 97.2% and the sensitivity and specificity were 55.1% and 84.4%, respectively, for the 5-year incidence of cognitive impairment.Conclusion-Olfactory impairment at baseline was strongly associated with the 5-year incidence of cognitive impairment as measured by the MMSE. Odor identification testing may be useful in high risk settings, but not in the general population, to identify patients at risk for cognitive decline.

The impact of lexical functioning and detection sensitivity on the deficit of odor identification in Alzheimer's disease (AD) was studied in persons diagnosed with probable and questionable AD. Tests consisted of lexical-based odor identification, lexical-based picture identification, picture-based odor identification, and odor-detection threshold. Results suggest (1) that odor identification is poorer than picture identification in probable and questionable AD, (2) that odor identification continues to be poor even when lexical demands are eliminated, (3) that odor detection does contribute to the odor-identification deficit, but does not account for it completely, and (4) that odor identification tests have a correct classification rate of 83-100%. Odor identification tests can be very useful tools in diagnosing AD and should be considered an important addition to existing diagnostic test batteries.