Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35603293›Full record

ArticleCommunications medicine2022

An olfactory self-test effectively screens for COVID-19.

Kobi Snitz, Danielle Honigstein, Reut Weissgross, Aharon Ravia, Eva Mishor, Ofer Perl, Shiri Karagach, Abebe Medhanie, Nir Harel, Sagit Shushan and 19 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Communications medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 17% 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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

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  5. Self-assessment of olfactory function using the "Sniffin' Sticks".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 · 2023
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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

29 authors at 14 institutions in 10 countries.

Kobi Snitz *Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Danielle Honigstein *Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Reut Weissgross *Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.ORCID 0000-0002-6554-9462
Aharon Ravia *Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.ORCID 0000-0003-2183-9254
Eva Mishor *Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.ORCID 0000-0003-4006-3789
Ofer Perl *Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Shiri KaragachDepartment of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Abebe MedhanieDepartment of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Nir HarelDepartment of Fine Arts, Bezalel Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Jerusalem, Israel.
Sagit ShushanDepartment of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Yehudah RothDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Edith Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Israel.
Behzad IravaniDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0001-9905-1067
Artin ArshamianDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Gernot ErnstPsychological institute, Oslo University, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0001-5224-0338
Masako OkamotoDepartment of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Cindy PooChampalimaud Research, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal.
Niccolò BonacchiChampalimaud Research, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0001-5228-6918
Zachary MainenChampalimaud Research, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0001-7913-9109
Erminio MonteleoneDepartment of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
Caterina DinnellaDepartment of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-5765-6057
Sara SpinelliDepartment of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
Franklin Mariño-SánchezRhinology and Skull Base Surgery Unit, Otorhinolaryngology Department, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
Camille FerdenziLyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS - INSERM - University Claude Bernard of Lyon, Lyon, France.
Monique SmeetsFaculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Kazushige TouharaDepartment of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Moustafa BensafiLyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS - INSERM - University Claude Bernard of Lyon, Lyon, France.ORCID 0000-0002-2991-3036
Thomas HummelSmell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Johan N LundströmDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-3529-8981
Noam SobelDepartment of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.ORCID 0000-0002-3232-9391
Weizmann Institute of Science · ILChampalimaud Foundation · PTUniversity of Florence · ITThe University of Tokyo · JPUniversité Claude Bernard Lyon 1 · FRBezalel Academy of Arts and Design · ILInstituto Cajal · ESKarolinska Institutet · SEMonell Chemical Senses Center · USStockholm University · SETechnische Universität Dresden · DETel Aviv University · ILUtrecht University · NLWolfson Medical Center · IL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Key to curtailing the COVID-19 pandemic are wide-scale screening strategies. An ideal screen is one that would not rely on transporting, distributing, and collecting physical specimens. Given the olfactory impairment associated with COVID-19, we developed a perceptual measure of olfaction that relies on smelling household odorants and rating them online. Methods: Each participant was instructed to select 5 household items, and rate their perceived odor pleasantness and intensity using an online visual analogue scale. We used this data to assign an olfactory perceptual fingerprint, a value that reflects the perceived difference between odorants. We tested the performance of this real-time tool in a total of 13,484 participants (462 COVID-19 positive) from 134 countries who provided 178,820 perceptual ratings of 60 different household odorants. Results: We observe that olfactory ratings are indicative of COVID-19 status in a country, significantly correlating with national infection rates over time. More importantly, we observe indicative power at the individual level (79% sensitivity and 87% specificity). Critically, this olfactory screen remains effective in participants with COVID-19 but without symptoms, and in participants with symptoms but without COVID-19. Conclusions: The current odorant-based olfactory screen adds a component to online symptom-checkers, to potentially provide an added first line of defense that can help fight disease progression at the population level. The data derived from this tool may allow better understanding of the link between COVID-19 and olfaction.

Indexed as

Olfactory systemSigns and symptoms

Identifiers

PMID35603293
PMCPMC9053292
OpenAlexW4226138229

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.