Longitudinal at Home Smell Testing to Detect Infection by SARS-CoV-2

Self-report of sudden loss of smell or taste substantially increases the odds of being infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, self-report of smell function is an unreliable predictor of smell loss. The study created a self-administered easy to use "at home" 5-minute objective smell test to uncover alterations in smell function unbeknownst to many individuals and confer increased risk of infection by SARS- CoV-2. The new smell test consists of a physical smell card containing peel and sniff odor labels and a web- based application. Each participant accessed the web-based app on their own smartphone, tablet, or computer. The study developed a native app to conduct longitudinal COVID Smell Test (Aim 1), collect data on asymptomatic health care workers, symptomatic patients, and undergraduates (Aim 2) and develop algorithms for the longitudinal smell test for personalized thresholds, differentiate smell loss from COVID relative to influenza (Aim 3). The Longitudinal COVID Smell Test was accessible, affordable, and readily scalable. Effective screening with the COVID smell test better informed students and employees if they should not report to school or work and seek an evaluation by a healthcare professional.