The outcome of fluticasone nasal spray on anosmia and triamcinolone oral paste in dysgeusia in COVID-19 patients

Am J Otolaryngol. 2021 May-Jun;42(3):102892. doi: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2020.102892. Epub 2021 Jan 16.

Abstract

Background: To study the outcome of fluticasone nasal sprays in smell disorders and triamcinolone paste in taste dysfunction in a population of laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 patients as the test group. The control group will not be given any intervention and only monitoring of these symptoms will be done to compare the recovery time.

Methods: This prospective interventional study was conducted from June to Nov 2020 at, Datta Meghe University during the COVID-19 outbreak. The 120 enrolled patients were tested at days 1 and 5 after proven infection by RT-PCR test.

Result: The mean age for all cases is 50.88 ± 15.93 years, whereas for the controls mean age is 51.2 ± 14.89. 2. Among cases 45 (75%) were males and 15 (25%) were females, among controls 43 (71.66%) were males and 17 (28.33%) were females. Among the case group, after the use of fluticasone spray in the nose and triamcinolone paste in the mouth there was a statistically significant improvement in recognizing all the odours and taste on day 5 compared to day 1. On comparing the smell and taste of cases and control group, either there is no improvement or worsening in smell or taste on day 5 in the control group.

Conclusion: The use of fluticasone nasal spray and triamcinolone paste had immensely influenced the basic senses such as smell and taste. Our study showed that olfactory and taste function significantly improved in patients with COVID-19. For all anosmia and dysgeusia cases who received fluticasone nasal spray and triamcinolone medications the recovery of smell senses and the taste was within a week.

Keywords: COVID-19; Neurological symptoms; Smell disorders; Taste disorders.

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Oral
  • Anosmia / drug therapy*
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / administration & dosage
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / therapeutic use*
  • COVID-19 / complications*
  • COVID-19 / epidemiology
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Dysgeusia / drug therapy*
  • Female
  • Fluticasone / administration & dosage
  • Fluticasone / therapeutic use*
  • Humans
  • India / epidemiology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Nasal Sprays
  • Prospective Studies
  • Triamcinolone / administration & dosage
  • Triamcinolone / therapeutic use*

Substances

  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents
  • Nasal Sprays
  • Triamcinolone
  • Fluticasone