Validation of the clinical applicability of the brief self-administered waterless empirical taste test during the era of COVID-19

Sep 29, 2026

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Study evaluates the clinical applicability of the Brief Self-Administered Waterless Empirical Taste Test (B-WETT) for assessing taste function in the era of COVID-19. Enrolled 60 healthy volunteers and 60 patients with gustatory dysfunction. Participants received both B-WETT and the original Self-Administered WETT using disposable tastant strips. In healthy volunteers, retesting after ≥7 days assessed reliability. Results demonstrate validity and strong correlations across tests and between test rounds, supporting B-WETT’s convenience and practicality for COVID-19 care.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

INTRODUCTION

Taste assessment and limitations of solution-based tests

Waterless Empirical Taste Test (WETT) and brief B-WETT

METHODS

Participants

Test procedure and reliability assessment

RESULTS

Score differences and correlations

Retest reliability for B-WETT

CONCLUSION

J Chin MedAssoc Original article Validation of the clinical applicability of the brief self-administered waterless empirical taste test during the era of COVID-19 Rong-San Jiang,a,b,c,d,* , Jing-Jie Wang,b,e aDepartment of Medical Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC; bDepartment of Otolaryngolog, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC; cSchool of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC; dRong Hsing Research Center for Translational Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC; eInstitute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC Abstract Background: This study was performed to test the clinical applicability of a new taste test, the Brief Self-Administered Waterless Empirical Taste Test (B-WETT) in the era of COVID-19 . Methods: Sixty healthy volunteers and 60 patients experiencing gustatory dysfunction were enrolled. All subjects received both the Self-Administered WETT and the new B-WETT which are comprised of disposable plastic strips containing sucrose, citric acid, sodium chloride, caffeine, and monosodium glutamate tastants to evaluate taste function. The healthy volunteers were re-tested with the WETT and B-WETT after an inter-test interval of at least 7 days to measure retest reliability. Results: The sum scores of five tastants of the first test were 25.7 for males and 29.5 for females in WETT, and 12.4 for males and 15.2 for females in B-WETT. There were significant differences in the sum scores between males and females whether in WETT or B-WETT. The sum scores strongly correlated between WETT and B-WETT, whether in healthy volunteers or in patients with gustatory dysfunction (r >0 .7) . There was also a strong correlation between the first and second tests of B-WETT for the sum scores. Conclusion: This study shows that B-WETT is a valid and reliable taste test, and is convenient for use in the era of COVID-19 to evaluate the taste function of patients. Keywords: Brief Self-Administered Waterless Empirical Taste Test; COVID-19; Taste test; Validity; Waterless Empirical Taste Test 1. INTRODUCTION Taste is an often overlooked sense.1 According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013–2014, approximately 26.3 million subjects aged 40 years and older in the US population experienced taste problems.2 These problems may cause anxiety, depression, or nutritional deficiencies in these patients.1 To provide adequate management for patients with taste dysfunction, a comprehensive assessment of a person’s taste function is necessary to make a correct diagnosis.3 Traditionally, taste function has been evaluated using solution-based taste tests.4,5 However, there are some drawbacks to these types of tests as they are usually time-consuming and commercially unavailable, and require assistance to be administered.6 Several taste tests using tablets, edible wafers, or taste strips have been developed to overcome the shortcomings of solution-based * Address correspondence. Dr. Rong-San Jiang, Department of Medical Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, 1650, Section 4, Taiwan Boulevard, Taichung 407, Taiwan, [ROC. E-mail address: rsjiang@vghtc.gov.tw](ROC. E-mail address: rsjiang@vghtc.gov.tw)[ ](ROC. E-mail address: rsjiang@vghtc.gov.tw)(R.-S. Jiang) Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the subject matter or materials discussed in this article. Journal of Chinese Medical Association. (2022) 85: 1136-1144. Received June 14, 2022; accepted July 29, 2022. doi: 10. 1097/JCMA.0000000000000796. Copyright © 2022, the Chinese Medical Association. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ([http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)) taste tests.6 One such test named the Waterless Empirical Taste Test (WETT, Sensonics Internation

FAQs

What is the Brief Self-Administered Waterless Empirical Taste Test (B-WETT) and what is it designed to measure?

B-WETT is a brief taste test that uses disposable strips containing tastants to evaluate taste function. It is designed for self-administration during the COVID-19 era.

How was B-WETT evaluated in the study?

Sixty healthy volunteers and 60 patients with gustatory dysfunction received both B-WETT and the original Self-Administered WETT. Healthy volunteers were retested after at least 7 days to measure retest reliability.

What were the key findings regarding validity and reliability?

B-WETT showed validity and reliable performance, with strong correlations between WETT and B-WETT sum scores (r > 0.7) and also strong correlations between the first and second B-WETT tests for sum scores.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by moss~