Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33423106›Full record

ArticleEuropean archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery2021

Efficacy and safety of oral corticosteroids and olfactory training in the management of COVID-19-related loss of smell.

Serge-Daniel Le Bon, Deborah Konopnicki, Nathalie Pisarski, Léa Prunier, Jérôme R Lechien, Mihaela Horoi

Registry-linked trialOpen access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05177445 (Efficacy and Safety of Phototherapy in the Treatment of Loss of Smell Post Acute Infection of Coronavirus 19), which is not on this map. Cited by 65 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
65citing papers in PubMed, 13 pooled it
13.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05177445 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2022, after this paper: background citation

Efficacy and Safety of Phototherapy in the Treatment of Loss of Smell Post Acute Infection of Coronavirus 19

TypeinterventionalSponsorRespiralabRan2022 to 2023Enrolled40ConditionsSmell DisordersArmsPhototherapy, OT+Corticosteroids
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

65 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 120 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. The efficacy of olfactory training in improving olfactory function: a meta-analysis.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2024
    Pooled it
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  7. Inhaled corticosteroids' effect on COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Canadian journal of respiratory therapy : CJRT = Revue canadienne de la therapie respiratoire : RCTR · 2023
    Pooled it
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  10. Efficacy of topical steroids for the treatment of olfactory disorders caused by COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical otolaryngology : official journal of ENT-UK ; official journal of Netherlands Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology & Cervico-Facial Surgery · 2022
    Pooled it
  11. Systematic review and meta-analysis of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in COVID-19.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2022
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5 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Serge-Daniel Le BonDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, CHU Saint-Pierre, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium. sergelebon@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7943-3404
Deborah KonopnickiDepartment of Infectious Diseases, CHU Saint-Pierre, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.
Nathalie PisarskiDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, CHU Saint-Pierre, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.
Léa PrunierDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, CHU Saint-Pierre, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.
Jérôme R LechienDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, CHU Saint-Pierre, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.
Mihaela HoroiDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, CHU Saint-Pierre, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.
Université Libre de Bruxelles · BE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeAs the COVID-19 pandemic continues, an increasing number of patients are afflicted by olfactory loss, a now well-recognized symptom of the disease. Though many patients seem to recover their sense of smell after a few weeks, a certain proportion of them seem to develop long-lasting olfactory disorder. Yet, as of October 2020, there is no recommended standardized treatment to reduce the risk of developing long-term olfactory disorder. In this pilot study, we investigated the efficacy and the safety of oral corticosteroids and olfactory training as a treatment for patients with persistent olfactory dysfunction as a result of COVID-19.

methodsNon-hospitalized patients with a sudden loss of smell and a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis were recruited by hospital call from February to April 2020. These participants were submitted to an extensive psychophysical testing in order to identify those with persistent dysosmia. Dysosmic patients were then treated either by a 10-day course of oral corticosteroids combined with olfactory training, or by olfactory training alone. All participants were subject to a second olfactory test after a mean of 10 weeks.

results72 subjects with documented COVID-19 infection performed the initial olfactory test, on average 5 weeks after losing their sense of smell. Amongst them, 27 (37.5%) patients showed persistent dysosmia and were all included in this study. Nine participants received oral corticosteroids and performed olfactory training (OCS + OT), while 18 performed olfactory training (OT) only. Only participants in the OCS + OT group had significantly improved their olfactory score and did so above the minimal clinically important difference for subjective improvement of smell (p = 0.007). Three of the participants who received oral corticosteroids reported minimal and transient side effects.

conclusionThis pilot study may suggest the combination of a short course of oral corticosteroids and olfactory training is safe and may be beneficial in helping patients with enduring dysosmia recover from olfactory loss due to COVID-19. There is a crucial need for further investigation with larger cohorts to corroborate these findings.

Indexed as

COVID-19Olfaction DisordersAdrenal Cortex HormonesAnosmiaCOVID-19 TestingHumansPandemicsPilot ProjectsSARS-CoV-2SmellAdrenal Cortex HormonesAnosmiaCOVID-19Loss of smellOlfactory trainingOral corticosteroids

Identifiers

PMID33423106
PMCPMC7796691
OpenAlexW3120583068

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.