Slow recruitment

This research study is a randomized controlled trial in pediatric and young adult patients who have lost their sense of smell due to COVID-19 viral infection. The goals are:

1. to learn more about the effects of smell retraining therapy on smell loss following COVID-19 and
2. to determine if budesonide-saline irrigations make smell retraining therapy more effective.

Researchers will screen all potentially eligible patients that have 'loss of smell' as their reason for visit at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology.

At the initial consult appointment at the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, listed study team members will perform a smell identification test called the UPSIT (University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test) and give the SNOT-22 (Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22) survey. The UPSIT is a 40-item scratch and sniff test with a four-choice multiple choice question on each of the 10 pages in the booklet. Indication of smell loss can be determined - anosmia (total loss) and mild, moderate, or severe microsomia and a detection for malingering. The SNOT-22 is a 22 question survey that asks about symptoms and social/emotional consequences of a nasal disorder. The survey is on a 6 point scale - No problem (0), very mild problem (1), mild or slight problem (2), moderate problem (3), severe problem (4), and problem as bad as it can be (5).

A randomized clinical trial will be performed with two arms for those that have lost their sense of smell for at least 8 weeks: 1) smell retraining for 8 weeks 2) smell retraining + Budesonide irrigations for 8 weeks. Smell retraining consists of choosing 4 scents each week and smelling each item for 15 seconds very close to the nose once a day. Budesonide irrigations will be done once a day by pouring 0.5mg/2ml of Budesonide into a irrigation bottle with saline and irrigating the nose. Participants may do the therapies at any point during the day.

Children and young adults ages 6 to 21 will be enrolled with 30 children block randomized in each arm, in which up to 10 children in each arm will be those who did not have a positive COVID-19 antigen test or confirmed COVID-19 by history. COVID-19 testing will be used for randomization purposes, but will not be limited to testing due to the inclusion of confirmation by history.

Two groups of subjects for study inclusion:

Group 1:

COVID-19 by clinical history or lab testing (n=40 (20 randomized to each group)) Those with COVID-19 confirmation by clinical history may not have had a COVID-19 positive test.

Group 2:

Those that did not have COVID-19 by clinical history or lab testing (n=20 (10 randomized to each group)) These subjects may have had a negative COVID-19 test or no clinical history of COVID-19.

Each child, with the help of their parents, will do the assigned therapy and fill out a daily Smell Diary. The child will pick 4 scents each week to perform the smell retraining each day that week. The child or parent will check mark every day that the 4 scents were smelled. The scents do not have to be new each week. Once a week the child will rate their loss of smell on a scale from 0 (no loss) to 10 (total loss).

Researchers will check in with the parent or participant on weeks 3, 5, and after the 8 week period. Families will return the Smell Diary at their standard of care follow-up appointment at 8 weeks (range 8 to 12 weeks). The UPSIT and the SNOT-22 will be given at the follow-up appointment. If the participants' sense of smell did not return to baseline at the follow-up, they will be asked to return at 6 months after the initial consult. If the participants' sense of smell has still not returned at the 6 month appointment, they will be asked to follow-up at 1 year after the initial consult. The UPSIT and SNOT-22 will be given at each of these appointments. If smell was not a baseline at 8 weeks, listed investigators will call the subject or subjects' parents at 6 months and 1 year after the initial appointment to check-in and for a reminder to schedule a follow-up appointment.

If participants do not have an 8-week follow-up visit, they may be mailed an UPSIT to complete at home and return by mail. They may also complete the SNOT-22 by mail or phone, and they may return the smell diary by email.

If patients were initially randomized to the smell retraining only, after the initial 8-12 weeks of therapy they may be prescribed budesonide as part of standard of care to maximize medical management as needed. We will invite participants to fill out a new smell diary during this time and we will collect any data available from the smell diary, UPSIT, and SNOT-22 at their standard of care visit after 8-12 weeks of budesonide irrigation. Patients who have already completed more than 12 weeks of smell retraining will not be included in this arm; although budesonide may be prescribed based on physician discretion, data will not be collected following budesonide treatment.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subjects ages 6 to 21 who have loss of smell (anosmia) or dysosmia (disordered smell perception) and thought to have occurred due to COVID-19.
• Subjects who are able to complete the smell test (UPSIT), self-report their loss of smell, and do the assigned daily therapy.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Duration of anosmia or dysosmia <60 days
• Previous smell retraining
• Prior interventions for loss of smell (excluding those on Flonase and Azelastine)
• Contraindications for nasal budesonide treatment, as determined by the treating physician
• Active cigarette smoker or use of vapes
• Previous head trauma
• Congenital anosmia
• History of brain tumor
• Neurocognitive disorders
• Multiple sclerosis
• Seizure disorder
• Cystic fibrosis
• Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia
• History of nasal polyps
• Inability to self-report

Individual participant data (IPD) may be shared, after de-identification, with researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal. IPD to be shared will include that necessary to achieve the aims in the approved proposal.

Beginning 1 year after publication of summary data. Ending 5 years after publication.

Proposals should be directed to shafferad@upmc.edu. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign data access agreement.

1 year

Early termination and significant loss to follow-up leading to small numbers of subjects analyzed.