Posttraumatic anosmia in craniofacial trauma

Although the clinical implications of anosmia can be significant, posttraumatic anosmia is generally given relatively little attention in the clinical setting. Patients who sustain craniofacial trauma are most at risk. The incidence of posttraumatic anosmia varies according to the severity of injury and has an overall estimated incidence of 7%. Factors that increase the risk of developing anosmia include anterior skull base fractures, bilateral subfrontal lobe injury, dural lacerations, and cerebrospinal fluid leakage. Recovery of function has been estimated to be approximately 10%. Time of recovery, if it occurs, varies between 8 weeks and 2 years. Presented herein are the clinical, radiographic, pathophysiologic, and anatomic substrata of posttraumatic anosmia.