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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2021 Mar-Apr;42(2):102884.
doi: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2020.102884. Epub 2021 Jan 4.

Corticosteroid nasal spray for recovery of smell sensation in COVID-19 patients: A randomized controlled trial

Abdelrahman Ahmed Abdelalim  1 , Ayman Abdelaal Mohamady  2 , Rasha Abdelhamid Elsayed  3 , Mona Ahmed Elawady  4 , Abdelhakim Fouad Ghallab  2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Corticosteroid nasal spray for recovery of smell sensation in COVID-19 patients: A randomized controlled trial

Abdelrahman Ahmed Abdelalim et al. Am J Otolaryngol. 2021 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the role of the topical corticosteroid, mometasone furoate, nasal spray in the treatment of post COVID-19 anosmia.

Methods: A prospective, randomized, controlled trial was conducted among patients with post COVID-19 anosmia. One hundred patients were randomly assigned to two groups; group I included 50 patients received mometasone furoate nasal spray in an appropriate dose of 2 puff (100 μg) once daily in each nostril for 3 weeks with olfactory training, group II included 50 patients were advised to keep on olfactory training only. The assessment of smell was done using (Visual Analog Scale from 0 to 10). All patients were initially evaluated after their recovery from COVID-19 and followed up for 3 weeks. The smell scores were recorded weekly and the duration of smell loss was recorded from the onset of anosmia till the full recovery.

Results: In both groups, the smell scores significantly improved by the end of the third week (P < 0.001). By comparing smell scores between both groups after 1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks of treatment, there were no statistically significant differences between both groups. In group I, (62%) of patients completely recovered their sense of smell after 3 weeks of treatment, compared to (52%) of patients in group II (P = 0.31).

Conclusion: The results suggested that using mometasone furoate nasal spray as a topical corticosteroid in the treatment of post COVID-19 anosmia offers no superiority benefits over the olfactory training, regarding smell scores, duration of anosmia, and recovery rates.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04484493.

Keywords: Anosmia; COVID-19; Mometasone furoate; Nasal spray; Smell.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
CONSORT flow diagram.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Correlation between age and duration of COVID-19 illness as prognostic factors and duration of smell loss in total studied cases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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