Taste Assessment Protocol: A New Simple Way of Testing Taste

Background: The objective of this work was to describe a simple, economical, and reproducible method for taste evaluation.

Methods: A new protocol called Taste Assessment Protocol was created using different concentrations of sweet, salty, bitter, and sour solutions. The test was applied to participants complaining of persistent olfactory–gustatory complaints after coronavirus disease 2019 diagnosis.

Results: Ten participants were included. The mean Taste Assessment Protocol score was 10.75 ± 1.2, with a recorded minimum of 8 and a recorded maximum of 12. Ninety percent of the patients had a Taste Assessment Protocol score ≥ 10. The mean olfactory threshold of the observed patients was 3.5 ± 1.7, with a registered minimum of 2 and a maximum of 6.

Conclusion: Tests like this may persuade researchers and clinicians to assess taste more regularly. Validation of this method could bring light to a standardized and easily applicable taste test, with a well-defined score. Taste assessment by this method suggests that gustatory dysfunction after coronavirus disease 2019 may be due to retronasal olfactory dysfunction.

Cite this article as: de Sousa FA, Machado AS, da Costa JC, et al. Taste assessment protocol: A new simple way of testing taste. Eur J Rhinol Allerg 2022;5(2):40-44.