Olfactory Training and Visual Stimulation Assisted by a Web Application for Patients With Persistent Olfactory Dysfunction After SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Observational Study

Background: Persistent olfactory dysfunction is a significant complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Olfactory training involving aromatic oils has been recommended to improve olfactory recovery, but quantitative data are missing.

Objective: We aimed to quantify the benefit of olfactory training and visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web application for patients who experienced olfactory dysfunction for ≥1 month.

Methods: We performed an observational, real-life, data-based study on a cohort of patients who experienced at least 1 month of persistent olfactory dysfunction between January 30 and March 26, 2021. An analysis was performed after a mean olfactory training time of 4 weeks, and at least 500 patients were assessable for primary outcome assessment. Participants exposed themselves twice daily to odors from 4 high-concentration oils and visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web application. Improvement was defined as a 2-point increase on a 10-point, self-assessed olfactory visual analogue scale.

Results: In total, 548 patients were assessable for primary outcome assessment. The mean baseline, self-assessed olfactory score was 1.9 (SD 1.7), and this increased to 4.6 (SD 2.8) after a mean olfactory training time of 27.7 days (SD 17.2). Olfactory training was associated with at least a 2-point increase in 64.2% (352/548) of patients. The rate of patients' olfactory improvement was higher for patients who trained for more than 28 days than that rate for patients who trained for less than 28 days (73.3% vs 59%; P=.002). The time to olfactory improvement was 8 days faster for patients with hyposmia compared to the time to improvement for patients with anosmia (P<.001). This benefit was observed regardless of the duration of the olfactory dysfunction.

Conclusions: Olfactory training and visual stimulation assisted by a dedicated web application was associated with significant improvement in olfaction, especially after 28 days of olfactory training.