<p><strong>Aim: </strong>The aim of present study was to determine the frequency of taste and smell disorders occuring in patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer.<strong> Methods: </strong>The study was of an empirical cross sectional quantitative descriptive design. During one month, consecutive cancer patients at outpatient units in two Swedish hospitals were asked to participate in the study by completing a questionnaire that had been developed previously for a similar study. All participants had undergone at least 1 cycle of intravenous chemotherapy or  a minimum of seven days of oral chemotherapy. <strong>Results: </strong>A total of<strong> </strong>102 patients completed the questionnaire. Results show that 55 % experienced taste disorders and  42 % experienced smell disorders. Both disorders are more common in women than in men. Of patients with taste disorders 47 % reported that it  impacted on their daily life to some degree and of patients with smell disorders the corresponding number was 33%. Patients with smell disorders reported a smaller degree of impact on their daily life than did patients with taste disorders.<strong> Conclusion: </strong>Both taste and smell disorders are common in cancer patients treated within chemotherapy. More research into factors that might eliminate or dimnish these problems is needed.<strong> </strong></p>

Aim: The aim of present study was to determine the frequency of taste and smell disorders occuring in patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer. Methods: The study was of an empirical cross sectional quantitative descriptive design. During one month, consecutive cancer patients at outpatient units in two Swedish hospitals were asked to participate in the study by completing a questionnaire that had been developed previously for a similar study. All participants had undergone at least 1 cycle of intravenous chemotherapy or  a minimum of seven days of oral chemotherapy. Results: A total of 102 patients completed the questionnaire. Results show that 55 % experienced taste disorders and  42 % experienced smell disorders. Both disorders are more common in women than in men. Of patients with taste disorders 47 % reported that it  impacted on their daily life to some degree and of patients with smell disorders the corresponding number was 33%. Patients with smell disorders reported a smaller degree of impact on their daily life than did patients with taste disorders. Conclusion: Both taste and smell disorders are common in cancer patients treated within chemotherapy. More research into factors that might eliminate or dimnish these problems is needed.

Submitted by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2015-01-19T14:06:17Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertação - Flávia Moreno Duarte - 2014.pdf: 990547 bytes, checksum: 589026eb3ccc7e695e35abeb91deb9c4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2015-01-19T14:06:33Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertação - Flávia Moreno Duarte - 2014.pdf: 990547 bytes, checksum: 589026eb3ccc7e695e35abeb91deb9c4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-01-19T14:06:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertação - Flávia Moreno Duarte - 2014.pdf: 990547 bytes, checksum: 589026eb3ccc7e695e35abeb91deb9c4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Smell and taste are often impaired by neurodegenerative diseases, however, they have never been studied in association in individuals with cortical and subcortical neurodegenerative diseases in Brazil. This study aimed to evaluate the olfactory and gustative capacity of Parkinson’s disease (PD) individuals, comparing them to a group of subjects with cortical neurodegenerative diseases (CND) and to a control group. It was a cross-sectional study, with convenience sampling. PD individuals were recruited at the Reference Center of Movement Disorders of Clínicas Hospital at the Federal University of Goiás (Centro de Referência em Transtornos do Movimento do Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Goiás) (n=80), CND patients were referred from a private clinic of Goiânia (n=20) and the control individuals, at the same age group of PD patients, neurodegenerative disease-free, came from several areas of Clínicas Hospital (n=40). Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected through direct interview and the use of a structured questionnaire including the following variables: gender, age, skin color, schooling, disease duration and stage and life habits. Olfactory capacity was assessed through Sniffin’ Sticks test (odor threshold, discrimination and identification) and gustative capacity through threshold and recognition test of the five basic tastes (sweet, savory, bitter, acid and umami). In order to test the association of olfactory and gustative capacity among the groups, Fisher’s exact test was used. For the comparison of detection and recognition thresholds’ means of basic tastes ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis were used. PD and CND individuals presented, respectively, 93.8 % and 100 % olfactory compromising and only 15 % of control group individuals presented olfactory reduction, demonstrating statistically significant differences (p<0.001). There were also differences both in detection thresholds as in recognition thresholds of basic tastes among the groups (p<0.001), except for recognition threshold of acid taste (p= 0.088) and umami (p=0.153). Regarding gustative capacity, 53.8 % of PD patients, 50 % of CND individuals and 35 % of control group subjects presented no altered identification of basic tastes, however, there were no significant differences among the groups (p=0.150). It can be concluded that olfactory and gustative capacity in individuals with neurodegenerative diseases, both cortical and subcortical, is compromised and, consequently, presents itself as an important marker of these diseases. / Olfato e paladar estão frequentemente prejudicados nas doenças neurodegenerativas, contudo, nunca foram estudados conjuntamente em indivíduos com doenças neurodegenerativas corticais e subcorticais no Brasil. Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a capacidade olfatória e gustativa de indivíduos com doença de Parkinson (DP), comparando-os com um grupo de indivíduos com doenças neurodegenerativas corticais (DNC) e um grupo controle. O desenho do estudo foi transversal, com amostragem por conveniência. Os indivíduos com DP foram recrutados no Centro de Referência em Transtornos do Movimento do Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Goiás (n=80), os pacientes com DNC encaminhados de uma clínica particular de Goiânia (n=20) e os controles, da mesma faixa etária do grupo DP, sem doenças neurodegenerativas foram oriundos das diversas áreas do Hospital das Clínicas (n=40). Dados sociodemográficos e clínicos foram coletados por meio de entrevista direta e uso de questionário estruturado abordando as variáveis: gênero, idade, cor da pele, escolaridade, duração e estágio da doença e hábitos de vida. Avaliou-se a capacidade olfatória por meio do teste Sniffin’ Sticks (limiar, discriminação e identificação de odores) e a capacidade gustativa por meio do teste de limiar e de reconhecimento dos cincos gostos básicos (doce, salgado, amargo, ácido e umami). Para testar a associação, da capacidade olfatória e gustativa entre os grupos, utilizou-se teste exato de Fisher. Para comparação de médias dos limites de detecção e de reconhecimento dos gostos básicos utilizou-se ANOVA e Kruskal-Wallis. Os indivíduos com DP e DNC apresentaram, respectivamente, 93,8 % e 100 %, de comprometimento no sentido do olfato e apenas 15 % dos indivíduos controles apresentaram redução no sentido do olfato, com diferenças significativas (p<0,001). Houve também diferenças tanto nos limites de detecção como nos limites de reconhecimento dos gostos básicos entre os grupos (p<0,001), exceto para o limite de reconhecimento do gosto ácido (p= 0,088) e do gosto umami (p=0,153). Em relação à capacidade gustativa, 53,8 % dos pacientes com DP, 50 % dos indivíduos do grupo DNC e 35 % dos indivíduos do grupo controle apresentaram alterações na identificação dos gostos básicos, porém não houve diferenças significativas entre os grupos (p=0,150). Conclui-se que a capacidade olfatória e gustativa em indivíduos com doenças neurodegenerativas, tanto corticais quanto subcorticais, estão comprometidas e, consequentemente, apresentam-se como um marcador importante dessas doenças.