The Benefits of Oxymetazoline on Sensory Impairment in COVID-19 Patients

Abstract

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak first appeared in Wuhan. Sudden loss of smell and taste sense has become a clinical symptom of COVID-19. One of the evolved and widely used chemosensory examination tools for sensory function is the "Sniffin sticks" test. Potential topical intranasal administration of drugs and agents known to have antiviral properties in SARS-CoV-2. Oxymetazoline is commonly used as a decongestant. Oxymetazoline topical nasal spray showed a viral load-reducing effect on rhinovirus. A randomized pre-post-controlled design consisted of 3 treatment groups. The study was conducted in Makassar in November 2022 until the sample size was met. Statistical analysis used the SPSS 20 program. The results show that there is a significant relationship between CT value and olfactory disorder on the first day using the Mann-Whitney test. On the fifth day, all groups have no significant relationship between CT value and olfactory disorder. In conclusion, comparison of Sniffin stick test scores between treatment groups with Kruskal-Wallis test (0.003) shows that the highest Sniffin stick test score is found of oxymetazoline group (d: 27.83; S: 29.00). The administration of oxymetazoline nasal spray in confirmed COVID-19 patients is more beneficial than the one without oxymetazoline nasal spray (placebo and nasal saline irrigation) in COVID-19 patients with olfactory disorders