Validation of the clinical applicability of the brief self-administered waterless empirical taste test during the era of COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to test the clinical applicability of a new taste test, the Brief Self-Administered Waterless Empirical Taste Test (B-WETT®) in the era of COVID-19. METHODS: Sixty healthy volunteers and 60 patients experiencing gustatory dysfunction were enrolled. All subjects received both the Self-Administered Waterless Empirical Taste Test (WETT®) and the new B-WETT® which are comprised of disposable plastic strips containing sucrose, citric acid, sodium chloride, caffeine and monosodium glutamate tastants to evaluate taste function. The healthy volunteers were re-tested with the WETT® and B-WETT® after an inter-test interval of at least 7 days to measure retest reliability. RESULTS: The sum scores of 5 tastants of the first test was 25.7 for males and 29.5 for females in WETT®, and 12.4 for males and 15.2 for females in B-WETT®. There were significant differences in the sum scores between males and females whether in WETT® or B-WETT®. The sum scores strongly correlated between WETT and B-WETT, whether in the healthy volunteers or in patients with gustatory dysfunction (r>0.7). There was also a strong correlation between the first and second tests of B-WETT® for the sum scores. CONCLUSION: This study shows that B-WETT® is a valid and reliable taste test, and is convenient for use in the era of COVID-19 to evaluate the taste function of patients.

Validation of the local applicability of the 'TIB' Olfactory Test Device in the era of COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the validity and test-retest reliability of the novel 'TIB' Olfactory Test Device (TIB) and to determine its normative values. METHODS: The study stratified the study subjects into normosmic, hyposmic and anosmic groups according to their olfactory function. The olfactory function of the subjects was evaluated using both the traditional Chinese version of the University of Pennsylvania of Smell Identification Test (UPSIT-TC) and the TIB. The normosmic group was used to retest with the UPSIT-TC and TIB at an inter-test interval of at least 7 days. The cut-off scores of TIB among the three different groups were determined by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULTS: This study enrolled 180 subjects: 60 in each group. The mean scores of TIB were 44.1 for the normosmic group, 27.5 for the hyposmic group and 10.9 for the anosmic group. The TIB scores were significantly different across the three groups. There was a significant correlation between the first and second TIB tests (r = 0.506). The cut-off scores were 41 for normosmic subjects and 24 for hyposmic subjects. CONCLUSION: The validity and test-retest reliability results suggest that the TIB is an appropriate olfactory test for the Taiwanese population.