Pediatric olfactory home testing using regular household items: A cross-over validation study.

Objective: To develop an olfactory test that can be conducted by an untrained person using common household items and to introduce a German version of the Chemosensory Pleasure Scale for Children (CPS-C(de)).

Methodology: This olfactory home test was developed in phases including evaluation of odors for suitability in a home setting. Parents of 50 children (ages 6-17) were then equipped with instruction manuals and participants were tested twice in a cross-over design. A validated pediatric olfactory test (the Universal Sniff test (U-Sniff)) served as the comparative gold standard. Additionally, a Chinese-English-German "back-and-forth" translation was conducted to establish the CPS-C(de) and was tested for empirical validity.

Results: Fourteen items were tested for feasibility, and all were identified on a sufficient rate (≥66%, mean ± SD of 93.3% ± 9.5%). Bland Altman Plot analysis between home testing and the U-Sniff test was nearly identical (bias = 0.04). CPS-C(de) showed similar results to the original Chinese version and a moderate correlation was found between CPS-C(de) scores and Body Mass Index of children (r = -0.527, p = 0.003).

Conclusions: Remote olfactory testing in children using household items is feasible. The CPS-C(de) may be of value for future olfactory studies.