Chemosensory function recovery in COVID-19 patients: A cross-sectional study

Objective: To determine whether subjects who have recovered from COVID-19 smell and taste disturbance perform similarly to their COVID-naive baseline, on gold -standard smell and taste tests. Study design: Prospective cross-sectional study. Setting: University of Miami Department of Otolaryngology in Miami, FL between September 2021, and August 2022. Methods: Those previously COVID-19 positive composed the experimental group, those who reported being COVID-naive composed the control group. Mean total score for the UPSIT Smell Test, and the Burghart Taste Strip test were the primary outcome measures. Results: 70 adult subjects (35 former COVID-positive, 35 COVID-naive) were enrolled, with 21 females and 14 males in each group. 87 % of all subjects were white and were almost distributed evenly between Hispanic and non-Hispanic. Mean UPSIT total score for the experimental group was 30.6 (95 % CI 28.9-32.3), mean UPSIT total score for the control group was 31.2 (95 % CI 29.7-32.8). Mean Burghart total score for the experimental group was 11.3 (95 % CI 10.6-12.0), mean Burghart total score for the control group was 10.7 (95 % CI 9.7-11.8). These showed a significant overlap of the 95 % CI of the mean total score between the control group and the experimental group, suggesting no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion: These results suggest that COVID-19 patients who experience smell and taste disturbance and recover, regain sensory ability similar to their pre-COVID ability. Further study is needed to validate these findings, but the results are promising in the long-term recovery of COVID-19.