View clinical trials related to Anosmia.
Filter by:Common side effects of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) include disruptions in taste and smell function, which may persist for prolonged periods of time following recovery and resolution of COVID-19 infection. These disruptions not only reduce the hedonic pleasure derived from eating, but may also be detrimental to quality of life and could pose additional health risks (malnutrition) among patients with chronic illness or those enduring long-term complications from their previous COVID-19 infection. Previous studies conducted among patients with cancer experiencing taste and smell abnormalities have indicated improvement in taste and smell function following daily lactoferrin supplementation. Lactoferrin is a natural transferrin protein that scavenges and chelates iron byproducts produced as a function of lipid oxidation in the oral cavity following inflammation, infection, or toxicity of chemosensory tissues. The purpose of this pilot investigation is to assess the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of lactoferrin supplementation (750mg per day for 30 days) for the treatment of taste and smell disturbances following COVID-19 infection. Approximately 40 patients who experienced disruptions in taste and smell following infection with COVID-19 will be recruited. Participants will complete baseline assessments (questionnaires, blood draw) and will be given 90 lactoferrin tablets (provided by Jarrow Formulas) in order to take 3 tablets per day for 30 days.
As the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world, anosmia and dysgeusia were quickly recognized as two of the key presenting symptoms. The probability of return of smell is related to severity of smell loss at presentation, but it appears that the loss of sense of smell and taste seems to persist in approximately 10% of the affected patients after 6 months. As a result of COVID-19, it is estimated that within the next 12 months > 150,000 Americans will suffer permanent loss of smell. The magnitude of this impairment on the health, safety, and quality of life is truly unprecedented and makes post-COVID olfactory disorder a major public health problem. Thus, there is a pressing need to identify effective treatments. The research questions are to determine the effects of steroid nasal saline lavage and olfactory training among adults with post-COVID olfactory dysfunction and identify confounders and modifiers of any observed effects. To answer the research question, the investigators propose a 2 x 2 factorial design blinded randomized clinical trial whereby 220 subjects with documented COVID-19 with anosmia/hyposmia of 12 weeks duration or longer from Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana will be recruited electronically from COVID patient advocacy sites, social media sites, and other internet sources. Enrolled subjects will be randomized to nasal saline lavage with topical budesonide or placebo to address the presumed role of inflammation in the olfactory cleft and each subject will also be randomized to olfactory training with patient-specific, high- or low-concentration essential oil scent to assess the role of olfactory training. Data will be analyzed in a blinded fashion to allow estimation of observed effect size for both anti-inflammatory and olfactory training. This innovative study will exploit the unique opportunities presented by COVID-19. The study will use a high-tech virtual "contactless" research strategy, including eConsent and digital mHealth techniques to obtain rapid answers to the research questions. The interventions are low-cost, readily available, and results of this study can be directly disseminated to the care of COVID-19 patients with anosmia.
To date there is no brain imaging and olfactory data available in COVID-19 positive patients with anosmia. By describing the pathophysiological characteristics underlying the olfactory symptoms and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 infection, the study investigators wish to compare the MRI aspects obtained in COVID-19 patients with and without anosmia, in the absence of other underlying neurological disorders.
The study will be a randomized controlled trial, involving patients with hyposmia/anosmia of onset immediately after an upper respiratory viral illness, assigned to three distinct study arms. Nasal irrigations will be prescribed to all three groups (BID). In addition, one arm will receive a paper hand-out about post-viral anosmia with instructions to smell common household items (current care) and act as a control group. The second group will receive an essential oil retraining kit, whereas the third group will receive the same olfactory training kit and a prescription to use budesonide with the nasal irrigations. Olfactory scores will be tested at the enrollment, 3 months and at 6 months.
The loss of the sense of smell, anosmia, can have profound effects on the lives of those who suffer from it. In our clinical practice, we have encountered several patients complaining of anosmia after recently undergoing surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass. We want to investigate this peculiar observation and determine if such a link exists. Thus far, there have been no similar studies published, and as such, no previous evidence on this matter. This study will help formalise and clarify these observations, empowering clinicians to better inform patients in the future; if cardiopulmonary bypass procedures do carry a risk of anosmia. This study may also give rise to further research into the matter.