Boscolo-Rizzo P, Hummel T, Menini A, Maniaci A, Uderzo F, Bigolin L, Tirelli G
Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, Section of Otolaryngology, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Rhinology. 2024 Dec 1;62(6):681-688. doi: 10.4193/Rhin24.233.
Olfactory loss (OL) has emerged as one of the most prevalent and debilitating symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection and long-COVID-19. The present prospective observational study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of olfactory training (OT) on orthonasal and retronasal olfactory function in a cohort of individuals with persistent post-COVID-19 OL.
Participants with post-COVID-19 olfactory impairment underwent 4 months of OT, self-assessing their smell perception and undergoing comprehensive psychophysical evaluation of orthonasal and retronasal olfaction at baseline and after training. Orthonasal olfactory function was assessed using the extended Sniffin' Sticks test battery. Retronasal olfactory function was tested with powdered aromas.
Among 114 participants with post-COVID-19 olfactory loss, adherence to OT was 60%. In adherents, the average increase in composite TDI score was 6.0 points compared to 2.6 points in non-adherents. Fifty-seven percent of adherent participants achieved a clinically significant improvement in TDI score (≥ 5.5 points), compared to 22% of non-adherents. In retronasal olfactoryidentification, 56% of adherents achieved a clinically significant improvement (≥ 4 points), compared to 16% of non-adherents.
Adherence to a 4-month OT regimen can yield clinically meaningful improvements in both orthonasal and retronasal olfactory function among individuals with persistent post-COVID-19 olfactory dysfunction.
嗅觉丧失已成为新冠病毒感染和新冠后综合征最常见且使人衰弱的症状之一。本前瞻性观察性研究旨在评估嗅觉训练（OT）对一组新冠后持续性嗅觉丧失患者的经鼻嗅觉和鼻后嗅觉功能的疗效。
新冠后嗅觉受损的参与者接受了4个月的嗅觉训练，在基线期和训练后自我评估嗅觉感知，并接受经鼻嗅觉和鼻后嗅觉的综合心理物理学评估。经鼻嗅觉功能使用扩展嗅棒测试组进行评估。鼻后嗅觉功能用粉末状香气进行测试。
在114名新冠后嗅觉丧失的参与者中，嗅觉训练的依从率为60%。在依从者中，综合TDI评分的平均增加为6.0分，而非依从者为2.6分。57%的依从参与者的TDI评分有临床显著改善（≥5.5分），而非依从者为22%。在鼻后嗅觉识别方面，56%的依从者有临床显著改善（≥4分），而非依从者为16%。
对于新冠后持续性嗅觉功能障碍的个体，坚持4个月的嗅觉训练方案可在经鼻嗅觉和鼻后嗅觉功能方面产生具有临床意义的改善。
