Prevalence and treatments of post-COVID olfactory dysfunction

More than half of all individuals with confirmed COVID-19 experience smell dysfunctions at some point during the disease.

Critically, recent data show that for individuals who had mild to medium acute COVID symptoms, a reduced or distorted sense of smell is the most prevalent symptom (34%) eight months after serologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.

However, few treatments exist for smell dysfunction, an affliction associated with a range of negative long-term health outcomes.

A transdisciplinary research team including primary and secondary care clinics as well as basic scientists will in the proposed project address two overarching aims.

First, we will determine the prevalence, symptomatology, and pathogenesis of post-COVID olfactory dysfunctions in a serologically highly controlled longitudinal cohort study.

Second, we will assess the efficacy of three novel therapeutic treatments for two common post-COVID olfactory dysfunctions, hyposmia and parosmia.

These online treatments are scalable and easily implemented in the primary care system at little cost for both patients and the health care system. If successful, the treatment for hyposmia will help many individuals regain their sense of smell.

Likewise, the treatment for parosmia, which will be the first and only treatment available, will provide individuals with medium to severe parosmia some potential refuge from the often debilitating difficulty they experience when eating and interacting with odors in their life.