Posttraumatic Anosmia Secondary to Cranial Base Contusion

Shinji Makino*, Nobuko Makino

Head trauma is a common cause of anosmia; however, the diagnosis is typically late, owing to greater  attention being given to the more life-threatening sequelae of the injury. Studies have cited olfactory dysfunction as occurring in approximately 30% of all head traumas [1].

A 19-year-old woman presented with olfactory disturbance after suffering a cranial base fracture 2 months previously in a traffic accident. Examination by T&T olfactogram revealed that she had the condition of total anosmia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed abnormal intensity due to cerebral contusion bilaterally in the orbitofrontal cortex, predominantly on the right side (Figure 1, white arrow; Figure 2,  arrows; Figure 3, arrows). In contrast, definite laterality was not detected at the olfactory tracts (Figure 1, yellow arrows). From the above findings, we speculated that the anosmia in this patient may have been caused mainly by orbitofrontal cortex damage.

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Published on: Jul 24, 2014 Pages: 10-11

Full Text PDF Full Text HTML DOI: 10.17352/2455-8702.000007
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