Topical medication delivery into the smell cleft
improves with “Kaiteki” Position
About 5% of the population exhibit functional anosmia and some studies have elucidated that the prevalence of olfactory impairment in adults older than 53 years can be upon 25%. Sinonasal diseases are among the most frequent causes of olfactory disorders.
Although systemic corticosteroids have shown therapeutic effects, the real benefit from the intranasal topical drug application can be compromised due to the small amount of the intranasal drops/spray that in fact reach the olfactory epithelium.
According to a study conducted by Mori E. (1), by adopting the position named “Kaiteki”, which means comfortable in Japanese, nasal drops reach the olfactory cleft in 96% of the decongested cases and up to 75% of the non-decongested ones. This manoeuvre is easily performed by lying on one side with our head tilted downwards 20° to 30° and the chin turned upward 20° to 40° (Fig. 1). The drops are administered into the uppermost nostril aiming the superior margin of the nasal septal mucosa, remaining in that position for 30 seconds.
Mori E., Merkonidis C., Cuevas M., Gudziol V., Matsuwaki Y., Hummel T. (2015) The administration of nasal
drops in the “Kaiteki Position” allows for the delivery of the drug to the olfactory cleft:
a pilot study in healthy subjects. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol.