Oral and Olfactory Complications of Recovered COVID-19 Patients

Sponsor
University of Giessen (Other)
Overall Status
Recruiting
CT.gov ID
NCT04791436
Collaborator
Masaryk University (Other), University of Kiel (Other)
402
1
20.9
19.2

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

This cohort study aims to investigate the long-standing chemosensory disorders and oral manifestation after recovery of the COVID-19 illness. A correlation between the long-standing symptoms and the COVID-19 severity grade will be very important to understand and clarify the aetiology of these symptoms.

Condition or Disease Intervention/Treatment Phase
  • Diagnostic Test: Gustatory and olfactory function test
  • Diagnostic Test: Molecular assessment of saliva

Detailed Description

This prospective cohort study aims to investigate the long-standing chemosensory disorders and oral manifestation after recovery of the COVID-19 illness. A correlation between the long-standing symptoms and the COVID-19 severity grade will be very important to understand and clarify the aetiology of these symptoms.

Study objectives:
  1. To describe the frequency and severity of oral signs and chemosensory disorders that persist after the recovery of COVID-19 and to examine whether "taste disorders" can be discriminated into an- or hypogeusia and an- or hyposmia.

  2. To report any correlation between the severity grade of COVID-19 and the resulting standing symptoms.

  3. To describe the oral microbiome after infection with COVID-19 and to describe possible changes in comparison to normal healthy individuals.

Clinical and -if indicated- radiological examination to assess the long-term oral and chemosensory impairment and complaints of COVID-19 patients after their recovery shall be performed in an interdisciplinary setting of Maxillofacial Surgery, ENT and Medical Microbiology.

The study subjects will be divided into three groups according to the severity grade of illness: non-hospitalized, hospitalized, and intensive care patients. All adult COVID-19 recovery patients (exceeding the age of 18) will be included in the study. The time between illness and study recruitment shall be at least 3 months. Exclusion criteria are psychiatric or neurological diseases, previous trauma, surgery or radiotherapy in the oral or nasal cavities, pre-existing taste or smell dysfunctions or chronic rhinosinusitis.

The study variables include age, sex, co-morbidities, possible causes of exclusion from the study. The oral health assessment will be performed by examination of: periodontal status, assessment of oral lesions, a radiological examination by using panoramic x-ray if clinically indicated, photo documentation, objective evaluation of the olfactory and gustatory functions with psychophysical tests. The gustatory and olfactory function will be tested by using the combined Burghart Screening 12 test containing smelling sticks and taste strips (Fa. MediSense, Groningen, Netherlands). Evaluation of taste and smell is performed by offering the sticks/strips and demand a forced multiple choice.

Study Design

Study Type:
Observational
Anticipated Enrollment :
402 participants
Observational Model:
Cohort
Time Perspective:
Prospective
Official Title:
Oral and Olfactory Complications of Recovered COVID-19 Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study
Actual Study Start Date :
May 1, 2021
Anticipated Primary Completion Date :
Dec 30, 2022
Anticipated Study Completion Date :
Jan 28, 2023

Arms and Interventions

Arm Intervention/Treatment
Mild Illness

Recovered COVID-19 patients who experienced a mild clinical course

Diagnostic Test: Gustatory and olfactory function test
The gustatory and olfactory function will be tested by using the combined Burghart Screening 12 test containing smelling sticks and taste strips (Fa. MediSense, Groningen, Netherlands). Evaluation of taste and smell is performed by offering the sticks/strips and demand a forced multiple choice.

Diagnostic Test: Molecular assessment of saliva
Saliva samples will be taken for molecular biological determination of the oral microbiome. The microbiome is determined at the Institute for Medical Microbiology by 16s-rRNA gene analysis with Next Generation Sequencing and bioinformatics.

Moderate Illness

Recovered COVID-19 patients who experienced a moderate clinical course

Diagnostic Test: Gustatory and olfactory function test
The gustatory and olfactory function will be tested by using the combined Burghart Screening 12 test containing smelling sticks and taste strips (Fa. MediSense, Groningen, Netherlands). Evaluation of taste and smell is performed by offering the sticks/strips and demand a forced multiple choice.

Diagnostic Test: Molecular assessment of saliva
Saliva samples will be taken for molecular biological determination of the oral microbiome. The microbiome is determined at the Institute for Medical Microbiology by 16s-rRNA gene analysis with Next Generation Sequencing and bioinformatics.

Severe Illness

Recovered COVID-19 patients who experienced a severe clinical course

Diagnostic Test: Gustatory and olfactory function test
The gustatory and olfactory function will be tested by using the combined Burghart Screening 12 test containing smelling sticks and taste strips (Fa. MediSense, Groningen, Netherlands). Evaluation of taste and smell is performed by offering the sticks/strips and demand a forced multiple choice.

Diagnostic Test: Molecular assessment of saliva
Saliva samples will be taken for molecular biological determination of the oral microbiome. The microbiome is determined at the Institute for Medical Microbiology by 16s-rRNA gene analysis with Next Generation Sequencing and bioinformatics.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

  1. Periodontal health [At least 3 months after recovery of COVID-19]

    Community Periodontal Index (CPI) of the World Health Organization (WHO) will be used to assess periodontal health (continuous variable)

  2. Oral mucocutaneous lesions [At least 3 months after recovery of COVID-19]

    An intraoral examination will be carried out to assess the presence of any mucocutaneous lesions (dichotomous variable)

  3. Gustatory function [At least 3 months after recovery of COVID-19]

    Burghart Sniffin' Sticks "Screening 12 Test" will be used to assess gustatory function (continuous variable)

  4. Olfactory function [At least 3 months after recovery of COVID-19]

    Burghart Sniffin' Sticks "Screening 12 Test" will be used to assess olfactory function (continuous variable)

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:
18 Years and Older
Sexes Eligible for Study:
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Yes
Inclusion Criteria:
  • All adult COVID-19 recovery patients (exceeding the age of 18) will be included in the study. The time between illness and study recruitment shall be at least 3 months.
Exclusion Criteria:
  • Exclusion criteria are psychiatric or neurological diseases, previous trauma, surgery or radiotherapy in the oral or nasal cavities, pre-existing taste or smell dysfunctions or chronic rhinosinusitis.

Contacts and Locations

Locations

Site City State Country Postal Code
1 Justus-Liebig University Gießen Hesse Germany 35392

Sponsors and Collaborators

  • University of Giessen
  • Masaryk University
  • University of Kiel

Investigators

None specified.

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Additional Information:

Publications

Responsible Party:
Sameh Attia, Head of the Dental Polyclinic, University of Giessen
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT04791436
Other Study ID Numbers:
  • OORCV
First Posted:
Mar 10, 2021
Last Update Posted:
May 18, 2022
Last Verified:
May 1, 2022
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:
No
Plan to Share IPD:
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:
No
Keywords provided by Sameh Attia, Head of the Dental Polyclinic, University of Giessen
Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Study Results

No Results Posted as of May 18, 2022