tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Front Public Health
. 2024 Apr 10:12:1322797.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1322797. eCollection 2024. Using SCENTinel® to predict SARS-CoV-2 infection: insights from a community sample during dominance of Delta and Omicron variants
Stephanie R Hunter[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Anne Zola[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Emily Ho[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Michael Kallen[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Edith Adjei-Danquah[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chad Achenbach[SUP] 2 [/SUP], G Randy Smith Jr[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Richard Gershon[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Danielle R Reed[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Benjamin Schalet[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Valentina Parma[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Pamela H Dalton[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Introduction: Based on a large body of previous research suggesting that smell loss was a predictor of COVID-19, we investigated the ability of SCENTinel®, a newly validated rapid olfactory test that assesses odor detection, intensity, and identification, to predict SARS-CoV-2 infection in a community sample.
Methods: Between April 5, 2021, and July 5, 2022, 1,979 individuals took one SCENTinel® test, completed at least one physician-ordered SARS-CoV-2 PCR test, and endorsed a list of self-reported symptoms.
Results: Among the of SCENTinel® subtests, the self-rated odor intensity score, especially when dichotomized using a previously established threshold, was the strongest predictor of SARS-CoV-2 infection. SCENTinel® had high specificity and negative predictive value, indicating that those who passed SCENTinel® likely did not have a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Predictability of the SCENTinel® performance was stronger when the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant was dominant rather than when the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant was dominant. Additionally, SCENTinel® predicted SARS-CoV-2 positivity better than using a self-reported symptom checklist alone.
Discussion: These results indicate that SCENTinel® is a rapid assessment tool that can be used for population-level screening to monitor abrupt changes in olfactory function, and to evaluate spread of viral infections like SARS-CoV-2 that often have smell loss as a symptom.
Keywords: COVID; anosmia; hyposmia; olfaction; pandemic; prediction; testing.
. 2024 Apr 10:12:1322797.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1322797. eCollection 2024. Using SCENTinel® to predict SARS-CoV-2 infection: insights from a community sample during dominance of Delta and Omicron variants
Stephanie R Hunter[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Anne Zola[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Emily Ho[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Michael Kallen[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Edith Adjei-Danquah[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chad Achenbach[SUP] 2 [/SUP], G Randy Smith Jr[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Richard Gershon[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Danielle R Reed[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Benjamin Schalet[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Valentina Parma[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Pamela H Dalton[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 38660364
- PMCID: PMC11041634
- DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1322797
Introduction: Based on a large body of previous research suggesting that smell loss was a predictor of COVID-19, we investigated the ability of SCENTinel®, a newly validated rapid olfactory test that assesses odor detection, intensity, and identification, to predict SARS-CoV-2 infection in a community sample.
Methods: Between April 5, 2021, and July 5, 2022, 1,979 individuals took one SCENTinel® test, completed at least one physician-ordered SARS-CoV-2 PCR test, and endorsed a list of self-reported symptoms.
Results: Among the of SCENTinel® subtests, the self-rated odor intensity score, especially when dichotomized using a previously established threshold, was the strongest predictor of SARS-CoV-2 infection. SCENTinel® had high specificity and negative predictive value, indicating that those who passed SCENTinel® likely did not have a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Predictability of the SCENTinel® performance was stronger when the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant was dominant rather than when the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant was dominant. Additionally, SCENTinel® predicted SARS-CoV-2 positivity better than using a self-reported symptom checklist alone.
Discussion: These results indicate that SCENTinel® is a rapid assessment tool that can be used for population-level screening to monitor abrupt changes in olfactory function, and to evaluate spread of viral infections like SARS-CoV-2 that often have smell loss as a symptom.
Keywords: COVID; anosmia; hyposmia; olfaction; pandemic; prediction; testing.