ASPO041 - Olfactory Dysfunction and Training in Children With COVID-19 Infection: A Prospective Study
Saturday, April 30, 2022
4:00 PM – 4:55 PM CT
Location: Landmark C
Kenny H. Chan, MD1, Bethany J. Thomas, MSN1, Deborah D. Gilbert, MSN1, Suhong Tong, MS2, Nathan J. Teynor, BS3, Norman R. Friedman, MD1, Brian W. Herrmann, MD1, Sarah A. Gitomer, MD1;
1Dept. of Otolaryngology, Univ. of Colorado Sch. of Med. and Dept. of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Children's Hosp. Colorado, Aurora, CO, 2Dept. of Pediatrics, Sch. of Med. and Dept. of Biostatistics and Informatics, Sch. of Publ. Hlth. - Univ. of Colorado Anschutz Med. Campus, Aurora, CO, 3Dept. of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Children's Hosp. Colorado, Aurora, CO.
INTRODUCTION: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) following COVID-19 infection (CVI) in children is known. There is evidence to suggest utility in treating postviral OD adults with olfactory training (OT) but investigation in CVI patients is limited. The utility of OT in children in general, and post-CVI in specific, is unknown.
OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the utility of OT in modulating OD in a pediatric cohort with post-CVI OD.
METHODS: A single-arm prospective study of pediatric subjects with OD following CVI, confirmed by the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), is being conducted. All subjects underwent OT by sniffing 4 odorants (lavender, orange, peppermint and eucalyptus) for 1 minute twice a day for 3 months. Subjects had 4 visits (monthly) and underwent an odorant identification test (OIT) of the 4 odorants each visit. A repeat UPSIT was administered at the 4th visit.
RESULTS: Preliminary data of this ongoing study showed a total of 29 subjects have enrolled with the following demographic characteristics: 8 males/21 females and mean age/standard deviation (sd) of 16.1/1.8 years. The time interval (mean/sd) between CVI and entry was 5.8/2.2 months. The UPSIT OD distribution was: 12 anosmia, 5 severe, 6 moderate and 6 mild hyposmia. 9 subjects have completed the 3-month OT study to date, and mean pre/post study UPSIT score improvement was 1.3 (p=.45). Improvement of OIT scores represented as a ratio (improved subjects/total number of subjects completed specific visits) between the visits were: visits 1&2 (18/18), visits 2&3 (11/13) and visits 3&4 (8/8).
CONCLUSION: OT subjects were predominantly female teens with substantial OD lasting greater than 5 months. OT did not affect OD as measured by UPSIT but OIT scores improved during OT. We postulate that OT likely has a role in pediatric post-CVI OD recovery, but UPSIT likely is too rigid to detect disparate odorant improvement.