Fabrice Denis 1 , Anne-Lise Septans 2 , Lea Periers 3 , Jean-Michel Maillard 4 , Florian Legoff 5 , Hirac Gurden 6 , Sylvain Moriniere 3 Show Affiliations »
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Persistent olfactory dysfunction is a significant complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Olfactory training involving aromatic oils has been recommended to improve olfactory recovery, but quantitative data are missing. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to quantify the benefit of olfactory training and visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web application for patients who experienced olfactory dysfunction for ≥1 month. METHODS: We performed an observational, real-life, data-based study on a cohort of patients who experienced at least 1 month of persistent olfactory dysfunction between January 30 and March 26, 2021. An analysis was performed after a mean olfactory training time of 4 weeks, and at least 500 patients were assessable for primary outcome assessment. Participants exposed themselves twice daily to odors from 4 high-concentration oils and visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web application. Improvement was defined as a 2-point increase on a 10-point, self-assessed olfactory visual analogue scale. RESULTS: In total, 548 patients were assessable for primary outcome assessment. The mean baseline, self-assessed olfactory score was 1.9 (SD 1.7), and this increased to 4.6 (SD 2.8) after a mean olfactory training time of 27.7 days (SD 17.2). Olfactory training was associated with at least a 2-point increase in 64.2% (352/548) of patients. The rate of patients' olfactory improvement was higher for patients who trained for more than 28 days than that rate for patients who trained for less than 28 days (73.3% vs 59%; P=.002). The time to olfactory improvement was 8 days faster for patients with hyposmia compared to the time to improvement for patients with anosmia (P<.001). This benefit was observed regardless of the duration of the olfactory dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: Olfactory training and visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web application was associated with significant improvement in olfaction, especially after 28 days of olfactory training. ©Fabrice Denis, Anne-Lise Septans, Lea Periers, Jean-Michel Maillard, Florian Legoff, Hirac Gurden, Sylvain Moriniere. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 27.05.2021.
BACKGROUND: Persistent olfactory dysfunction is a significant complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection . Olfactory training involving aromatic oils has been recommended to improve olfactory recovery, but quantitative data are missing. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to quantify the benefit of olfactory training and visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web application for patients who experienced olfactory dysfunction for ≥1 month. METHODS: We performed an observational, real-life, data-based study on a cohort of patients who experienced at least 1 month of persistent olfactory dysfunction between January 30 and March 26, 2021. An analysis was performed after a mean olfactory training time of 4 weeks, and at least 500 patients were assessable for primary outcome assessment. Participants exposed themselves twice daily to odors from 4 high-concentration oils and visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web application. Improvement was defined as a 2-point increase on a 10-point, self-assessed olfactory visual analogue scale. RESULTS: In total, 548 patients were assessable for primary outcome assessment. The mean baseline, self-assessed olfactory score was 1.9 (SD 1.7), and this increased to 4.6 (SD 2.8) after a mean olfactory training time of 27.7 days (SD 17.2). Olfactory training was associated with at least a 2-point increase in 64.2% (352/548) of patients . The rate of patients ' olfactory improvement was higher for patients who trained for more than 28 days than that rate for patients who trained for less than 28 days (73.3% vs 59%; P=.002). The time to olfactory improvement was 8 days faster for patients with hyposmia compared to the time to improvement for patients with anosmia (P<.001). This benefit was observed regardless of the duration of the olfactory dysfunction . CONCLUSIONS: Olfactory training and visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web application was associated with significant improvement in olfaction, especially after 28 days of olfactory training. ©Fabrice Denis, Anne-Lise Septans, Lea Periers, Jean-Michel Maillard, Florian Legoff, Hirac Gurden, Sylvain Moriniere. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 27.05.2021.
Entities: Chemical
Disease
Gene
Species
Keywords:
COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; app; dysfunction; nose; observational; olfactory; olfactory dysfunction; olfactory training; real-life study; senses; smell; stimulation; training; web application, eHealth
Year: 2021
PMID： 34003765 DOI： 10.2196/29583
Source DB: PubMed Journal: J Med Internet Res ISSN： 1438-8871 Impact factor: 5.428