Introduction

The Sniffin’ Sticks threshold test is widely used to assess olfactory threshold due to its high reliability and validity. Nevertheless, this test procedure is quite long with an average duration of 10 to 20 min. In study designs that require multiple olfactory threshold tests on short intervals, this could exhaust participants. To counteract this limitation, we developed the informed-four-reversal (INFOUR) short version of the Sniffin’ Sticks threshold test for repeated measurement designs and piloted it in a sample of normosmic participants.

Methods

Forty-two participants performed the original Sniffin’ Sticks version before being assigned either to the control group that repeated the original version or to the test group that conducted the INFOUR short version.

Results

The correlation between the original version at T1 and INFOUR at T2 was r = .75 and did not differ significantly from the retest reliability of the original version. Compared to the original version, the INFOUR took 42% less time to perform.

Conclusion

The INFOUR leads to a significant time saving, while maintaining good validity.

Implications

Therefore, this approach has the potential to be a useful tool for study protocols with repeated olfactory threshold measurements. In particular, when research protocols are time intensive or testing needs to the shortened, because the interventional effects are short or subtle.

中文翻译：

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基于嗅探棒测试的重复测量设计中嗅觉阈值更短且有效的评估新方法

介绍

Sniffin'Sticks 阈值测试因其高信度和效度而被广泛用于评估嗅觉阈值。然而，这个测试过程相当长，平均持续时间为 10 到 20 分钟。在需要在短时间内进行多次嗅觉阈值测试的研究设计中，这可能会使参与者筋疲力尽。为了抵消这一限制，我们开发了用于重复测量设计的 Sniffin' Sticks 阈值测试的知情四反转 (INFOUR) 简短版本，并在正常参与者样本中进行了试点。

方法

在被分配到重复原始版本的对照组或执行 INFOUR 短版本的测试组之前，42 名参与者执行了原始的 Sniffin' Sticks 版本。

结果

T1 的原始版本和 T2 的 INFOUR 之间的相关性为r  = .75，并且与原始版本的重测信度没有显着差异。与原始版本相比，INFOUR 的执行时间减少了 42%。

结论

INFOUR 可显着节省时间，同时保持良好的有效性。

影响

因此，这种方法有可能成为具有重复嗅觉阈值测量的研究协议的有用工具。特别是，当研究方案时间密集或测试需要缩短时，因为干预效果很短或很微妙。