COVID-19: Recovery from Chemosensory Dysfunction. A Multicentre study on Smell and Taste.

OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: With the COVID-19 pandemic, chemosensory dysfunction are among the most prevalent symptoms. Most reports are subjective evaluations, which have been suggested to be unreliable. The objective is to test chemosensory dysfunction and recovery based on extensive psychophysical tests in COVID-19 during the course of the disease. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. METHODS: A total of 111 patients from four centers participated in the study. All tested positive for SARS-COV-2 with RT-PCR. They were tested within 3 days of diagnosis and 28 to 169 days after infection. Testing included extensive olfactory testing with the Sniffin' Sticks test for threshold, discrimination and identification abilities, and with the Taste Sprays and Taste Strips for gustatory function for quasi-threshold and taste identification abilities. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in olfactory function during and after infection. During infection 21% were anosmic, 49% hyposmic, and 30% normosmic. After infection only 1% were anosmic, 26% hyposmic, and 73% normosmic. For gustatory function, there was a difference for all taste qualities, but significantly in sour, bitter, and total score. Twenty-six percent had gustatory dysfunction during infection and 6.5% had gustatory dysfunction after infection. Combining all tests 22% had combined olfactory and gustatory dysfunction during infection. After infection no patients had combined dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: Chemosensory dysfunction is very common in COVID-19, either as isolated smell or taste dysfunction or a combined dysfunction. Most people regain their chemosensory function within the first 28 days, but a quarter of the patients show persisting dysfunction, which should be referred to specialist smell and taste clinics for rehabilitation of chemosensory function. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Laryngoscope, 131:1095-1100, 2021.

The Association Between Taste Impairment and Serum Zinc Concentration in Adult Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed to elucidate the association between taste acuity and serum zinc concentration in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: We enrolled 29 patients who were hospitalized and asked them to attend a 2-week diabetes education program. Fasting blood samples were obtained on the morning of the first day and 2 weeks after hospitalization. The acuity of sweet, salty, sour or bitter taste was evaluated by a filter-paper disc method. Correlations among taste acuity, glycemic control and serum zinc concentration were analyzed using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The following parameters (mean ± standard deviation) were improved after 2 weeks' hospitalization: taste acuity (sweet: 3.5±1.0 to 2.9±1.1; salty: 3.3±1.1 to 2.6±1.0; sour: 3.6±1.2 to 2.7±0.8; and bitter: 3.3±1.3 to 2.7±1.1; all p<0.001); glycemic control (fasting plasma glucose, 9.4±3.0 to 7.1±1.8 mmol/L, and glycoalbumin, 26.3±7.7 to 22.7±5.9 %; both p<0.001); and serum zinc concentration (1.2±0.2 to 1.3±0.2 mmol/L; p<0.001). Sour and bitter taste acuity were significantly associated with serum zinc concentration (sour, r=-0.50, p=0.005; bitter, r=-0.40, p=0.033). CONCLUSIONS: Glycemic control, serum zinc concentration and taste acuity were improved after the short-duration education program. Sour and bitter taste acuity were significantly associated with serum zinc concentrations.

Abordaje integral en la rehabilitación funcional del olfato y del gusto desde un enfoque fonoaudiológico / Recovering the sense of taste and smell as a result of opperational therapy integration -speech-pathology-based approach / Abordagem integral na reabilitação funcional do olfato e do paladar a partir de um enfoque fonoaudiologico

Introducción: teniendo en cuenta la ontogenia y la antropología del olfato y del gusto del individuo, la Rehabilitación Fonoaudiológica del Olfato y Gustose ha encarado desde un punto de vista funcional y de integración de ambos sentidos, mediante la Estimulación Integral Multisensorial, teniendo en cuentatanto la vía retro como la ortonasal. Objetivo: Demostrar los resultados obtenidos con el uso de la rehabilitación fonoaudiológica del olfato y gusto, mediante la estimulación integral multisensorial. Materiales y métodos: Estudio descriptivo observacional longitudinal de junio a octubre de 2015 de 7 casos (2 hombres y 5 mujeres) diagnosticados pormédico otorrinolaringólogo especialista en olfato y gusto del Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín. Se tomó una historia clínica detallada, se administró el Test de Connecticut, pre y pos rehabilitación y se aplicó el Protocolo de Rehabilitación para pacientes con Trastornos de Olfato y Gusto. Resultados: En cuanto a la evaluación objetiva, 4 de los 7 pacientes pasaron de anosmia a hiposmia severa. Un sujeto evolucionó de hiposmia moderada a leve después de rehabilitación fonoaudiológica exclusiva. Dos pacientes no lograron salir de la anosmia. Uno de ellos presentó cambios subjetivos luego de un mes de tratamiento que, debido a un cuadro de vías aéreas superiores, desaparecieron. Conclusiones: 5 de los 7 pacientes mostraron resultados positivos al tratamiento, lo que demostraría que la estimulación de la vía retro y ortonasal en conjunto con la Estimulación Integral Multisensorial, llevaría a progresos significativos.

Introduction: considering Ontogeny and anthropological aspects of the individual’s sense of smell and taste, Speech Therapy is addressed by means of multi-sensory integration of orto-nasal and retronasal ways, in which both senses are operationally integrated. Objectives: Demostrate the results obtained using Speech Therapy of smell and taste, through integrated multisensory stimulation. Methods and materials: Descriptive observational longitudinal study of seven cases analyzed from June to October, 2015. Two men and five women were diagnosed by an otorhinolaryngologist specializing in smell and taste disorders. The patients’ medical history,was used for the purposes of this study. The Connecticut Test and “El Protocolo de Rehabilitaciónpara Pacientes con Trastornos de Olfato y Gusto” (“Examination Protocol for Patients Diagnosed with Smell and Taste Disorders”) were applied. Results: After applying the tests, four out of seven patients who suffered from anosmia, were eventually diagnosed with severe hyposmia. One subject developed with mild hyposmia after receiving Speech Therapy exclusively. Two patients were not able to recover from anosmia. In one of them, subjective improvements were observed after one month of treatment; however they completely dissappeared later, due to an upper respiratory tract inffection. Conclusions: Improvements were observed in five of the cases analyzed thanks to the treatment administered. Thus, the combination of retro-nasal and orto-nasal ways stimulation and multi-sensory integration is supposed to significantly improve the well-being of patients diagnosed with anosmia.

Introdução: tendo em conta a ontogenia e a antropologia do olfato e do paladar do indivíduo, a Reabilitação Fonoaudiológica do Olfato e do Paladar foi desenvolvida a partir de um ponto funcional e da interação de ambos os sentidos, por meio de Estimulação Integral Multissensorial, tomando-se em conta tanto a via retro como a ortonasal. Objetivo: Demonstrar resultados usando a reabilitação fonoaudiológica de olfato e paladar , através da estimulação multisensorial integrado. Materiais e métodos: Estudo longitudinal descritivo observacional de junho a outubro de 2015 de sete casos (dois homens e cinco mulheres) diagnosticados por médico Otorrinolaringologista especialista em olfato e paladar do Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín. A partir de uma história clínica detalhada, foi administrado o Teste Connecticut, pré e pós-reabilitação e aplicado o Protocolo de Reabilitação para pacientes com Transtornos de Olfato e Paladar. Resultados: Em relação à avaliação objetiva, quatro dos sete pacientes passaram de anosmia à hiposmia severa. Um paciente evoluiu de hiposmia moderada à leve depois da reabilitação fonoaudiológica exclusiva. Dois pacientes não conseguiram sair da anosmia. Um deles apresentou mudanças subjetivas depois de um mês de tratamento, mas devido a um quadro de vias aéreas superiores, as mudanças desapareceram. Conclusão: Cinco de sete pacientes mostraram resultados positivos ao tratamento, o que demonstraria que a estimulação da via aérea retro e ortonasal em conjunto com a Estimulação Integral Multissensorial, poderia levar a progressos significativos.

Practice of laryngectomy rehabilitation interventions: a perspective from Australia.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To provide a perspective of contemporary practice in rehabilitation of speech and swallowing in patients undergoing total laryngectomy in Australia. RECENT FINDINGS: In Australia, the preferred method of voice rehabilitation is by the use of tracheo-oesophageal voice prosthesis. Dysphagia is an ongoing problem and the use of adjuvant radiation and chemotherapy compounds this problem. There are difficulties associated with surgery because of the variation in disease involvement of pharyngeal mucosa and musculature, as well as difficulties associated with healing in previously chemoradiated surgical fields. SUMMARY: This article demonstrates the need for careful consideration of surgical technique, particularly in closure of the neopharynx in the chemoradiated patient. It encourages further research into the problems of speech and particularly swallowing in this patient population, as these problems impact significantly on the quality of life.

Practice of laryngectomy rehabilitation interventions: a perspective from Europe/the Netherlands.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Total laryngectomy rehabilitation (TLR) in Europe is not uniform, with quite some differences in approach and infrastructure between various countries. In, for example, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Scandinavia, and more recently also in the UK, head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment and rehabilitation shows a high level of centralization in dedicated HNC centres. In other European countries, the level of centralization is lower, with more patients treated in low-volume hospitals. This article focusses on the situation in the Netherlands and, where applicable, will discuss the regional variations in Europe. RECENT FINDINGS: Prosthetic surgical voice restoration (PSVR) presently is the method of choice in Europe, and use of oesophageal and electrolarynx voice has moved to the background. In most European countries (except the UK and Ireland), PSVR is physician driven, with an indispensable role for speech-language pathologists and increasingly for oncology nurses. Indwelling voice prostheses are mostly preferred, also because these devices can be implanted at the time of trachea-oesophageal puncture. Pulmonary rehabilitation is achieved with heat and moisture exchangers, which, based on extensive clinical and basic physiology research, are considered an obligatory therapy measure. In addition to PSVR, also issues such as smoking cessation, dysphagia/swallowing rehabilitation, and olfaction/taste rehabilitation are discussed. Especially, the latter has shown great progress over the last decade and is another example of increasing implementation of evidence-based practice in TLR. SUMMARY: TLR has shown considerable progress over the last decades, and through the intensified collaboration between all clinicians involved, significantly has improved vocal, pulmonary, and olfactory rehabilitation after total laryngectomy.

Crossmodal plasticity in sensory loss.

In this review, we describe crossmodal plasticity following sensory loss in three parts, with each section focusing on one sensory system. We summarize a wide range of studies showing that sensory loss may lead, depending of the affected sensory system, to functional changes in other, primarily not affected senses, which range from heightened to lowered abilities. In the first part, the effects of blindness on mainly audition and touch are described. The latest findings on brain reorganization in blindness are reported, with a particular emphasis on imaging studies illustrating how nonvisual inputs recruit the visually deafferented occipital cortex. The second part covers crossmodal processing in deafness, with a special focus on the effects of deafness on visual processing. In the last portion of this review, we present the effects that the loss of a chemical sense have on the sensitivity of the other chemical senses, that is, smell, taste, and trigeminal chemosensation. We outline how the convergence of the chemical senses to the same central processing areas may lead to the observed reduction in sensitivity of the primarily not affected senses. Altogether, the studies reviewed herein illustrate the fascinating plasticity of the brain when coping with sensory deprivation.