Management of post-COVID olfactory disorder: is olfactory training effective on recovery of olfactory function?

Öz

Background The number of patients presenting with sudden onset and persistant anosmia and other olfactory disorders, which is a finding related to coronavirus disease has increased considerably. Objective In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of olfactory training in patients with persistent anosmia after Covid-19 infection. Methods Forty-six patients who applied for a sudden loss of smell after Covid-19 infection and still had olfactory disorders were included in the study. Odor threshold and odor identification tests were performed on the patients before the treatment. As olfactory training, four scent bottles included the following groups: phenyl ethyl alcohol, eucalyptol group, citronellal group and eugenol group were given to patients, and they were instructed to sniff the odors twice a day, for five seconds each, when they woke up in the morning and before they went to sleep and make a daily check that they applied the treatment. Patients who continued the training for 12 weeks were re-evaluated with the odor threshold test and odor identification test. Results The pre-training mean olfactory threshold score of the patients was 1.65±1.74, and the post-training mean olfactory threshold score was 3.89±2.73. It was observed that the olfactory threshold scores increased significantly after the olfactory training (P<0.001). The pre-training mean odor identification score of the patients before olfactory training was 4.09±3.53 and the post-training mean odor identification score was 8.24±4.53. It was observed that odor identification scores increased significantly after olfactory training (P<0.001). Conclusion The results of this study show that olfactory training can be an effective treatment method for olfactory loss after Covid-19.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• anosmia
• odor threshold
• olfactory disorder
• covid-19
• olfactory training

COVID sonrası koku alma bozukluğunun yönetimi: Koku alma eğitimi koku alma fonksiyonunun iyileşmesi üzerinde etkili mi?

Öz

Arka plan COVID-19 hastalığına bağlı ani başlangıçlı anosmi ve diğer koku alma bozuklukları ile başvuran hasta sayısı oldukça artmıştır. Amaç Bu çalışmada Covid-19 enfeksiyonu sonrası inatçı anosmisi olan hastalarda koku alma eğitiminin etkinliğini değerlendirmeyi amaçladık. Yöntem Çalışmaya COVID-19 enfeksiyonu sonrası ani koku kaybı şikayeti ile başvuran ve koku alma bozuklukları devam eden 46 hasta alındı. Tedavi öncesi hastalara koku eşiği ve koku tanımlama testleri yapıldı. Koku eğitimi olarak hastalara fenil etil alkol, okaliptol grubu, sitronelal grubu ve öjenol grubu olmak üzere 4 koku şişesi verilmiş ve hastalara sabah uyandıklarında kokuları günde iki kez 5’er saniye olmak üzere koklamaları söylenmiştir. Hastaların sabah ve yatmadan önce tedaviyi uyguladıkları günlük olarak kontrol edildi. Eğitime 12 hafta devam eden hastalar koku eşiği testi ve koku tanımlama testi ile yeniden değerlendirildi. Bulgular Hastaların eğitim öncesi ortalama koku eşik puanı 1.65±1.74, eğitim sonrası ortalama koku eşiği puanı 3.89±2.73 idi. Olfaktör eşik puanlarının olfaktör eğitimden sonra anlamlı olarak arttığı görüldü (P<0,001). Olfaktör eğitim öncesi hastaların eğitim öncesi ortalama koku tanıma puanı 4.09±3.53, eğitim sonrası koku tanımlama puanı ortalama 8.24±4.53 idi. Koku eğitiminden sonra koku tanıma puanlarının anlamlı olarak arttığı gözlendi (P<0,001). Sonuç Bu çalışmanın sonuçları, koklama eğitiminin Covid-19 sonrası koku kaybı için etkili bir tedavi yöntemi olabileceğini göstermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• anosmi
• koku eşiği
• koku alma bozukluğu
• covid-19
• koku alma eğitimi

Kaynakça

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