Five-item odorant test as an indicator of COVID-19 infection in a general population.
Am J Otolaryngol
; 43(2): 103376, 2022.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1654011
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
To analyze the utility of a 5-item odorant test (U-Smell-It™) in determining COVID-19 status in COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive and -negative participants.METHODS:
Symptoms, COVID-19 status, and 5-item odorant test results were collected from general population COVID-19 testing in Louisiana (n = 1042), and routine COVID-19 screening of healthcare workers in a nursing home in Florida (n = 278) (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT04431908).RESULTS:
In the general population COVID-19 testing site, a cutoff point of ≤2 (0, 1, or 2 correct answers out of 5) achieved sensitivity of 40.0% (95% CI 26.4%-54.8%) and specificity of 89.2% (95% CI 87.1%-91.1%) in detecting COVID-19 infection. Within this population, analysis of individuals with no self-reported loss of smell/taste and runny/stuffy nose resulted in sensitivity of 38.1% (95% CI 18.1%-61.6%) and specificity of 92.3% (95% CI 89.1%-93.4%), while analysis of individuals with self-reported loss of smell/taste and/or runny/stuffy nose resulted in sensitivity of 41.4% (95% CI 23.5%-61.1%) and specificity of 82.4% (95% CI 77.7%-86.5%).CONCLUSIONS:
The quick turnaround time, low cost, reduced resource requirement, and ease of administering odorant tests provide many advantages as an indicator sign to help flag a molecular diagnostic COVID-19 test with relatively high specificity. Our results suggest that this odorant testing for olfactory dysfunction may be a viable option in pre-screening COVID-19 infection. This tool has the potential to allow for continued monitoring and surveillance, while helping mitigate surges of COVID-19 variants. Further investigation is warranted to observe the extent to which odorant testing might be applied in a serial testing scenario.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Olfaction Disorders
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Variants
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Am J Otolaryngol
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.amjoto.2022.103376
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