COVID-19 and Anosmia: Prevalence, Molecular Analysis, Clinical Trial [COVID-19]

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    SARS-CoV-2 infection/Covid-19 and anosmia – prevalence study, molecular analysis and clinical trial

  • IRAS ID

    283758

  • Contact name

    Valerie J. Lund

  • Contact email

    valerie.lund@nhs.net

  • Sponsor organisation

    University College London

  • Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

    NCT05246059

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    0 years, 11 months, 30 days

  • Research summary

    The CDC has recently added loss of smell to its list of symptoms related to COVID-19 infection, which has been widely reported as a key symptom at presentation. This topic has received significant press coverage, especially with regard to potential implications, such as the need for self-isolation with these symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic. We seek to assess the prevalence of anosmia in a sample of UK patients, who were diagnosed with COVID-19 on the basis of swab tests, and are enrolled through the UK Biobank or are affected staff at Barts Health NHS Trust, University College London Hospital or James Paget University Hospitals via staff surveys. We plan to conduct a randomised controlled clinical trial for the evaluation of the efficacy of olfactory training for the treatment of anosmia secondary to COVID-19 infection. We will use a standardized smell test to determine baseline smelling capacity and potential improvements at the end of the study.

  • REC name

    West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    20/WM/0147

  • Date of REC Opinion

    12 May 2020

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion