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Brief Smell Identification Test (Brief-SIT)
Availability
Please visit this website for more information about the instrument: Brief Smell Identification Test
Classification
Supplemental: Parkinson's Disease (PD)
Short Description of Instrument
This test is a modification of the 40-item Smell Identification Test (University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test, UPSIT), in which 12 odors have been selected that are well-known in most cultures.
 
The test uses strips of paper impregnated with microencapsulated odors that are released upon scratching the strip with a pencil. The patient is given four choices from which to choose the correct odor.
Scoring and Psychometric Properties
Scoring: Forced choice among 4 alternative responses for all 12 odors.
 
Psychometric Properties: BSIT Versions A sensitivity 83.1% and specificity 79.5% for hyposmia, Version B sensitivity 96.5% and specificity 51.8%; for discrimination of PD, sensitivity 82%, specificity 82%, positive predictive value 77%. Only 5 of the 12 B-SIT odors (gasoline, banana, pineapple, smoke, and cinnamon) were required to adequately discriminate patients with PD from controls.
Rationale/Justification
Strengths: Briefer administration time than full UPSIT (<5 minutes) with similar psychometric properties, additional versions available (Version A for Alzheimer's, Version B for PD), strong normative data, cross-cultural applicability considered in its development.
 
Weaknesses: Expensive, limited shelf time
References
Key References:
Doty RL, Bromley SM, Stern MB. Olfactory testing as an aid in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease: development of optimal discrimination criteria. Neurodegeneration. 1995 Mar;4(1):93-7.
 
Additional References:
Bohnen NI, Gedela S, Herath P, Constantine GM, Moore RY. Selective hyposmia in Parkinson disease: association with hippocampal dopamine activity. Neurosci Lett. 2008 Dec 5;447(1):12-6.
 
Double KL, Rowe DB, Hayes M, Chan DK, Blackie J, Corbett A, Joffe R, Fung VS, Morris J, Halliday GM. Identifying the pattern of olfactory deficits in Parkinson disease using the brief smell identification test. Arch Neurol. 2003 Apr;60(4):545-9.
 
Hawkes CH, Shephard BC, Daniel SE. Olfactory dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1997 May;62(5):436-46.
 
Joseph T, Auger SD, Peress L, Rack D, Cuzick J, Giovannoni G, Lees A, Schrag AE, Noyce AJ. Screening performance of abbreviated versions of the UPSIT smell test. J Neurol. 2019 Aug;266(8):1897-1906.
 
Silveira-Moriyama L, Petrie A, Williams DR, Evans A, Katzenschlager R, Barbosa ER, Lees AJ. The use of a color coded probability scale to interpret smell tests in suspected parkinsonism. Mov Disord. 2009 Jun 15;24(8):1144-53.
 
Document last updated August 2022