Scientists have developed a 10-minute treatment that restores the sense of smell and taste in patients suffering from parosmia, a condition associated with COVID-19 infection.

While most individuals recover their olfactory and gustatory senses after a bout of COVID-19, some continue to experience these symptoms for extended periods. Recognizing this post-COVID parosmia, researchers have devised a minimally invasive procedure to address the condition.

Lead author Professor Adam Zoga explained that parosmia is typically observed in cases of brain trauma, surgery, stroke, viral syndromes, and certain head and neck tumors. Initially uncertain about the effectiveness of the procedure for parosmia, the team injected anesthetic into the stellate ganglion in the neck to stimulate the autonomic nervous system, guided by CT imaging.

The entire procedure takes less than 10 minutes and requires no sedation. It has previously been used to treat various other conditions, including cluster headaches and phantom limb pain. For this study, 54 patients with post-COVID parosmia resistant to conventional therapies were referred to the researchers.

Follow-up data was collected for 37 patients, revealing that 22 of them reported improved symptoms within a week after the injection. Among these 22 individuals, 18 experienced significant and progressive improvement by the one-month mark.

Notably, there were no complications or adverse events associated with the treatment. Professor Zoga expressed surprise at the outcomes, with some patients experiencing near-complete resolution of phantosmia, a condition characterized by olfactory hallucinations.

This breakthrough treatment offers hope to individuals suffering from COVID-related parosmia and may provide relief where previous treatments have fallen short.