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Olfactory DisorderSNIFFEDNCT02985515

Steroid Nasal Irrigation for Flavor Evaluation and Detection Study

A study testing Smell training in people with Olfactory Disorder, run by Washington University School of Medicine at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The purpose of this research study is to examine the efficacy of a 12-week smell training intervention for participants with olfactory dysfunction following an infection of the upper respiratory tract. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 70 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Olfactory Disorder
What is being tested?
Smell training
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
51 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
28 Sep 2016to 20 Nov 2019
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 70 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Age between 18 and 70
  • Anosmia or hyposmia (UPSIT <34 (male), UPSIT <34 (female); Sniffin' Sticks threshold below 5.5)

Who cannot join

  • Inability to understand English
  • Current smoker or history of smoking within the past 6 months
  • Current nasal polyps
  • Exposure to head and or/neck radiation
  • Exposure to chemotherapy

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Washington University

    St Louis, Missouri, 63110

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Steroid Nasal Irrigation for Flavor Evaluation and Detection (SNIFFED) Study

The purpose of this research study is to examine the efficacy of a 12-week smell training intervention for participants with olfactory dysfunction following an infection of the upper respiratory tract.

Read the detailed description

Olfactory dysfunction affects up to fifteen percent of the general population and can cause significant psychosocial distress including decreased appetite, reduced self-hygiene, and mood disturbances.

This study aims to study the efficacy of smell training for patients with olfactory dysfunction following a viral upper respiratory tract infection. Eligible participants will complete a 30-day course of budesonide nasal saline irrigation. Participants who do not show improvement in their olfaction based on composite smell and taste tests will be eligible to receive a baseline resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) and complete a 12-week smell training intervention program. Smell training involves participants smelling 4 odors (phenyl ethyl alcohol, eucalyptus, lemon, and eugenol) twice a day for 12 weeks. Following completion of smell training, participants will undergo repeat smell and taste tests as well as rs-fMRI to ascertain the efficacy of smell training.

Being tested
Smell training
Keywords
Anosmia, Hyposmia, Intranasal Steroid Irrigation, Olfactory Neuroplasticity, Olfactory training
Medical subject headings
Anosmia

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Smell trainingBehavioural

    Also called Olfactory Training

    Participants will be provided with 4 vials of essential odors. Participants will sniff each scent for 20-30 seconds, twice daily, for 12 weeks. The participant will take 30 seconds of rest between each scent. All participants will undergo this smell training regimen for 12 weeks.

Study groups in NCT02985515
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Budesonide Nasal IrrigationNo intervention30-day run-in course of budesonide nasal irrigation. 1-month supply of budesonide capsules, an 8-oz sinus rinse bottle, and a 1-month supply of commercially prepared isotonic salt packets. Participants were instructed to dissolve 2 budesonide capsules (0.5mg per capsule) into the sinus rinse bottle along with the saline mixture and then irrigate both nasal cavities once daily.
Budesonide Nasal Irrigation + Smell TrainingExperimentalBudesonide nasal irrigation + smell training for 12 weeks
Receives: Behavioral: Smell training
ControlsNo interventionBaseline olfaction testing and rs-fMRI

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Pre- and Post-intervention Difference in Functional Connectivity Before and After Smell Training.

    Baseline and post-intervention connectivity within and between regions of interest in the olfactory and olfactory related networks using resting state fMRI will be obtained. Resting-state connectivity was analyzed using the CONN toolbox version 18b (https://web.conn-toolbox.org/) and SPM12, version 7487 (Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging). Functional connectivity values (Fisher z-transformed Pearson correlation coefficients) were compared using a paired, 2-tailed t test and corrected for multiple comparisons. p<0.05 was considered to be significant.

    Measured: 12 weeks

Secondary outcomes (5)
  1. Pre- and Post-intervention Difference in Smell Testing Before and After Budesonide Treatment

    Objective pre- and post-intervention differences of participant performance on the UPSIT and Sniffin Sticks tests before and after budesonide saline nasal irrigation.

    University of Pennsylvania Identification Test (UPSIT) consists of 4 odor-impregnated booklets that participants scratch and sniff to identify various odors, and scores account for differences in sex. Hyposmia is defined as a score of 19 to 34 for females and 19 to 33 for males. Anosmia for either sex is defined as a score below 18. Possible scores range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating better sense of smell.

    Sniffin' Sticks are odor-encapsulated markers that are used to measure odor detection threshold, discrimination, and identification (TDI). Normosmia is defined as a TDI score >30.5. An increase by 5.5 points or more from baseline is considered meaningful improvement. Possible scores range from 1 to 48 with higher values indicating better sense of smell.

    Measured: 30 days

  2. Subjective Response to Smell Training Intervention

    Participants subjective sense of smell following intervention is measured using a visual analogue scale from 0 to 100 with 0 representing no sense of smell and 100 representing best possible sense of smell.

    Measured: 12 weeks

  3. Comparison of Olfactory Network in Healthy Controls to Study Participants

    Baseline functional connectivity within and between the olfactory and associated networks of healthy controls will be compared to that of study participants prior to smell intervention treatment as measured by rs-fMRI.Resting-state connectivity was analyzed using the CONN toolbox version 18b (https://web.conn-toolbox.org/) and SPM12, version 7487 (Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging). Functional connectivity values (Fisher z-transformed Pearson correlation coefficients) were compared using a paired, 2-tailed t test and corrected for multiple comparisons . P < .05 was considered statistically significant.

    Measured: 1 week

  4. Pre- and Post-intervention Difference in Smell Testing Before and After Smell Training

    Objective pre- and post-intervention differences of participant performance on the UPSIT and Sniffin Sticks tests before and after budesonide saline nasal irrigation.

    University of Pennsylvania Identification Test (UPSIT) consists of 4 odor-impregnated booklets that participants scratch and sniff to identify various odors, and scores account for differences in sex. Hyposmia is defined as a score of 19 to 34 for females and 19 to 33 for males. Anosmia for either sex is defined as a score below 18. Possible scores range from 0 to 40 with higher scores representing better sense of smell.

    Sniffin' Sticks are odor-encapsulated markers that are used to measure odor detection threshold, discrimination, and identification (TDI). Normosmia is defined as a TDI score >30.5. An increase by 5.5 points or more from baseline is considered meaningful improvement. Possible scores range from 1 to 48 with higher values indicating better sense of smell.

    Measured: 12 weeks

  5. Pre and Post Difference in QOD-NS After Smell Training

    The QOD-NS is a validated 17-item questionnaire that pertains to olfactory-specific quality of life domains adversely impacted by olfactory dysfunction and is inversely scored (maximum score of 51), with higher scores reflective of more impaired quality of life.

    Measured: 12 weeks

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted7 Dec 2016 (estimated)
  2. Study start28 Sep 2016
  3. Primary completion20 Nov 2019
  4. Study completion20 Nov 2019

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
This is a prospective cohort, pre- and post-intervention study
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
51 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02985515
Sponsor's protocol ID
201608163
Acronym
SNIFFED
Status last verified
Nov 2022
First submitted
3 Dec 2016
Last updated
4 Nov 2022
Data monitoring committee
Yes

Publications

  • Deems DA, Doty RL, Settle RG, Moore-Gillon V, Shaman P, Mester AF, Kimmelman CP, Brightman VJ, Snow JB Jr. Smell and taste disorders, a study of 750 patients from the University of Pennsylvania Smell and Taste Center. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1991 May;117(5):519-28. doi: 10.1001/archotol.1991.01870170065015.

    PubMed 2021470
  • Doty RL, Frye RE, Agrawal U. Internal consistency reliability of the fractionated and whole University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test. Percept Psychophys. 1989 May;45(5):381-4. doi: 10.3758/bf03210709.

    PubMed 2726398
  • Hummel T, Sekinger B, Wolf SR, Pauli E, Kobal G. 'Sniffin' sticks': olfactory performance assessed by the combined testing of odor identification, odor discrimination and olfactory threshold. Chem Senses. 1997 Feb;22(1):39-52. doi: 10.1093/chemse/22.1.39.

    PubMed 9056084
  • Kobal G, Hummel T, Sekinger B, Barz S, Roscher S, Wolf S. "Sniffin' sticks": screening of olfactory performance. Rhinology. 1996 Dec;34(4):222-6.

    PubMed 9050101
  • Coldwell SE, Mennella JA, Duffy VB, Pelchat ML, Griffith JW, Smutzer G, Cowart BJ, Breslin PA, Bartoshuk LM, Hastings L, Victorson D, Hoffman HJ. Gustation assessment using the NIH Toolbox. Neurology. 2013 Mar 12;80(11 Suppl 3):S20-4. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182872e38.

    PubMed 23479539
  • Bartoshuk LM, Duffy VB, Hayes JE, Moskowitz HR, Snyder DJ. Psychophysics of sweet and fat perception in obesity: problems, solutions and new perspectives. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2006 Jul 29;361(1471):1137-48. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2006.1853.

    PubMed 16815797
  • Pepino MY, Finkbeiner S, Beauchamp GK, Mennella JA. Obese women have lower monosodium glutamate taste sensitivity and prefer higher concentrations than do normal-weight women. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2010 May;18(5):959-65. doi: 10.1038/oby.2009.493. Epub 2010 Jan 14.

    PubMed 20075854
  • Cicerale S, Breslin PA, Beauchamp GK, Keast RS. Sensory characterization of the irritant properties of oleocanthal, a natural anti-inflammatory agent in extra virgin olive oils. Chem Senses. 2009 May;34(4):333-9. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjp006. Epub 2009 Mar 8.

    PubMed 19273462
  • Keast RS, Roper J. A complex relationship among chemical concentration, detection threshold, and suprathreshold intensity of bitter compounds. Chem Senses. 2007 Mar;32(3):245-53. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjl052. Epub 2007 Jan 13.

    PubMed 17220518
  • Cowart BJ. Relationships between taste and smell across the adult life span. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1989;561:39-55. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1989.tb20968.x. No abstract available.

    PubMed 2735688
  • Hummel T, Rissom K, Reden J, Hahner A, Weidenbecher M, Huttenbrink KB. Effects of olfactory training in patients with olfactory loss. Laryngoscope. 2009 Mar;119(3):496-9. doi: 10.1002/lary.20101.

    PubMed 19235739
  • Stamps JJ, Bartoshuk LM, Heilman KM. A brief olfactory test for Alzheimer's disease. J Neurol Sci. 2013 Oct 15;333(1-2):19-24. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2013.06.033. Epub 2013 Aug 5.

    PubMed 23927938
  • Tepper BJ, Christensen CM, Cao J. Development of brief methods to classify individuals by PROP taster status. Physiol Behav. 2001 Jul;73(4):571-7. doi: 10.1016/s0031-9384(01)00500-5.

    PubMed 11495661
  • Pekala K, Chandra RK, Turner JH. Efficacy of olfactory training in patients with olfactory loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2016 Mar;6(3):299-307. doi: 10.1002/alr.21669. Epub 2015 Dec 1.

    PubMed 26624966

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Smell training in people with Olfactory Disorder, run by Washington University School of Medicine at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 4 Nov 2022. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 4 Nov 2022). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Pre- and Post-intervention Difference in Functional Connectivity Before and After Smell Training. (time frame: 12 weeks). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT02985515, which also lists 14 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 4 Nov 2022.

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