Results
There were 149 Fifth Sense members who responded to the survey; of these
127 declared they had experienced PIOD. In the 127 PIOD respondents, 13
reported both CRS and AR, 18 just AR and 13 just CRS. Seven reported a
severe septal deviation. The age range was 28-85 with a mean of 57 ±11.
The duration of their disorder was less than 5 years in 63% of cases,
with 64% reporting the presence of parosmia. In terms of treatment
received, 50% had not received any treatment at all from their GP or
ENT specialist; 24 members reported they were currently using nasal
medications. Prior medication use included oral and intra-nasal
corticosteroids (OCS, INCS) as the most commonly given in 28% (n=36).
Additionally, antibiotics were received by some patients despite a lack
of evidence to support this. Figure 1 shows the treatments reported by
respondents (some respondents reported more than one treatment).
Twenty-four patients (without other reported sinonasal disorders) (19%)
also reported having undergone an MRI and/or CT scans, neither of which
are indicated if the history is clear and endoscopy shows no evidence of
intranasal pathology.
Quotations from survey
participants
Participants were asked to leave comments and many did. Here are a few
examples: