Table 1 Baseline characteristics, intention to treat population
Placebo group (n = 57) | Prednisolone group (n = 58) | |
|---|---|---|
Age, years | 46 (39.5–55.0) | 51 (42.5–59.3) |
Sex | ||
Female | 39 (68.4%) | 34 (58.6%) |
Male | 18 (31.6%) | 24 (41.4%) |
Vaccinated | 50.0 (87.7%) | 41 (70.7%) |
Time since positive COVID-19 test, days | 53.0 (43.5–67.0) | 59.5 (46.5–73.0) |
Sino-nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) | 23.0 (14.5–37.0) | 20.5 (13.5–44.0) |
Sniffin’ Sticks Test (SST) | ||
Threshold-Discrimination-Identification (TDI) score | 20.5 (17.5–24.3) | 22.9 (19.9–25.1) |
Threshold | 1.3 (1.0–3.4) | 1.5 (1.0–3.8) |
Discrimination | 9 (7–11) | 10 (8–11) |
Identification | 9 (7–11) | 10 (9–12) |
Taste Strip Test (TST) | ||
Total score | 10 (7–12) | 10 (7–12) |
Sweet | 3 (2–4) | 4 (2.8–4) |
Sour | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) |
Salty | 2 (1–3) | 3 (2–3) |
Bitter | 3 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) |
Olfactory Disorders Questionnaire (ODQ) | ||
Total score | 0.5 (0.4–0.6) | 0.5 (0.4–0.5) |
Self–reported visual analog scale (VAS) | ||
Sense of smell | 1.1 (0.3–3.1) | 1.4 (0.5–2.8) |
Sense of taste | 3.4 (1.2–5.8) | 3.7 (1.0–5.8) |
Trigeminal sensations | 3.8 (2.1–5.8) | 5.2 (2.6– 6.8) |
Olfactory training compliance, frequency | 136 (101–150) | 123 (83–152) |