Mini Olfactory UPSIT

Why?

The full UPSIT test is quite time consuming and the booklets are relatively expensive. Hence the reason this full test is largely confined to the assessment of patients for legal purposes. A mini-UPSIT test is an abbreviated assessment in which only 3 scratch and sniff odours are used on a single small card. It is therefore much cheaper and more straightforward to carry out, but can still give helpful clinical information regarding adjunctive confirmation of a patients sense of smell before medical or surgical treatments.

How?

This test is carried out by the ENT practice nurse. It consists of four envelope-sized booklets, each containing ten ‘scratch and sniff’ odour strips. The smells are released by scratching the strip with a pencil tip which should be sniffed immediately. The subject is offered 4 possible multiple-choice responses describing what the odour may smell like. Only one is correct. You must mark one of these, even if no smell is perceived.