Validation of a self-administered olfactory and gustatorytest for the remotely evaluation of COVID-19 patientsin home quarantine

Background:Chemosensitive disorders are very frequent in the early stagesof COVID-19 and in paucisymptomatic cases. These patients are typicallyplaced in home quarantine. This study has the aim of validating a new olfac-tory and gustatory objective evaluation test in these patients.Methods:Thirty-three home-quarantined COVID-19 patients have undergonea self-administered chemosensitive test the day before the control swab. Onthis occasion, the patients underwent operator-administered already validatedtests. The results were finally compared.Results:The differences between the results of the two tests were not signifi-cant for both the olfaction (P=.201) and the taste (P=.180).Conclusion:The olfactory and gustatory evaluation by self-administered testcan be considered a valid tool, fundamental for obtaining objective qualitativeand quantitative data on the extent of chemosensitive disorders in home-quarantined COVID-19 patients.