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BRG doctor leads team in researching how taste tests can predict COVID-19 severity

3 years 6 months 1 week ago Tuesday, September 15 2020 Sep 15, 2020 September 15, 2020 10:09 AM September 15, 2020 in News
Source: WBRZ
Dr. Henry P. Barham

BATON ROUGE – Baton Rouge General issued a Tuesday morning press release regarding a group of its researchers who've discovered that a simple taste test may predict how different people respond to COVID-19. 

Initial research reveals a connection between a person’s ability to taste certain bitter flavors and how well they're able to fight upper respiratory tract infections, which could help identify people at higher risk for hospitalization or intensive care.

The perception of taste, controlled by taste receptors, is known to impact a person’s response to respiratory infections and sinus infections. But, Baton Rouge rhinologist Dr. Henry Barham is the first to apply that connection to COVID-19. 

His initial study involved an analysis of patients who had previously tested positive for the coronavirus and how their taste test results corresponded to their symptoms. 

Now, Dr. Barham has teamed up with Dr. Christian A. Hall and Dr. Mohamed A. Taha to work on a larger study.

The taste tests place people in one of three groups: “non-tasters,” “super-tasters,” or “tasters.” The research shows that those categories could predict symptoms and severity of a COVID-19 infection.

Below is a description of each group.

Non-tasters

Up to 25 percent of people can’t detect certain bitter flavors at all. This group is at a higher risk for developing more severe symptoms and potentially hospitalization from COVID-19.

 

Super-tasters

25 percent can detect exceedingly small quantities of bitter flavors. This group is most likely to be asymptomatic.

 

Tasters 

Everyone else in between these two extremes. This group is likely to display mild to moderate symptoms often not requiring hospitalization, unless they have existing underlying conditions.

 

“As we now know, a new loss of taste and smell are hallmark symptoms of COVID-19,” said Dr. Barham. “That connection prompted us to take a closer look at how a person’s taste receptors relate to their body’s immune response to COVID.”

Dr. Barham’s first study, published in the International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology, was conducted in July and included 100 patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 then recovered. Based on the taste strip test, the results showed that 100 percent of the patients requiring hospitalization were classified as non-tasters.

“It was at that point we could see that taste disturbance, specifically global loss of taste, appears to correlate with the clinical course specific to each individual,” Dr. Barham said. “We took these results and built a second, broader study that would allow us to test people before they contracted COVID-19 and predict which group they may fall into based on their taste test results. Over time, we are monitoring the group and whether or not our predictions are correct.” 

The test, described as quick and easy, is conducted by placing four tiny strips of paper on the tongue, one at a time. After each strip, Dr. Barham and his team asks the person to report flavor and intensity on a scale of 1-10. For example, the strip could taste very bitter or mildly bitter. Based on their ability to taste each strip, people are classified into one of the three taster groups.

If the first study holds true, this research could help medical experts better understand why people are affected so differently by COVID-19. It could allow people at high risk to make more informed choices about where they go and how they interact with others, or even change how we prioritize vaccinations. In addition, it could help identify people who may be infected with COVID without showing symptoms, allowing them to take extra precautions not to spread the virus.

 

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