Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc, Brussels, Belgium.
Institute of Neuroscience, Univeristé catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2021 Jul;11(7):1041-1046. doi: 10.1002/alr.22788. Epub 2021 Mar 16.
The frequent association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and olfactory dysfunction is creating an unprecedented demand for a treatment of the olfactory loss. Systemic corticosteroids have been considered as a therapeutic option. However, based on current literature, we call for caution using these treatments in early COVID-19-related olfactory dysfunction because: (1) evidence supporting their usefulness is weak; (2) the rate of spontaneous recovery of COVID-19-related olfactory dysfunction is high; and (3) corticosteroids have well-known potential adverse effects. We encourage randomized placebo-controlled trials investigating the efficacy of systemic steroids in this indication and strongly emphasize to initially consider smell training, which is supported by a robust evidence base and has no known side effects.
2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）与嗅觉功能障碍经常相关，这导致对嗅觉丧失的治疗需求空前高涨。全身性皮质类固醇被认为是一种治疗选择。然而，基于目前的文献，我们呼吁在 COVID-19 相关嗅觉功能障碍的早期谨慎使用这些治疗方法，因为：（1）支持其有效性的证据薄弱；（2）COVID-19 相关嗅觉功能障碍的自发恢复率很高；（3）皮质类固醇具有众所周知的潜在不良反应。我们鼓励开展随机安慰剂对照试验，以研究全身性类固醇在该适应证中的疗效，并强烈建议首先考虑嗅觉训练，因为嗅觉训练有坚实的证据基础，且无已知的副作用。
