Evaluation of the xerostomia, taste and smell impairments after Covid-19

Abstract

Background The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of coronavirus disease 19 (Covid-19) on the oral cavity by evaluating the oral findings in the patients who recovered after treatment. Material and Methods This study involved confirmed Covid-19 patients whose treatment completed at least two weeks ago. A questionnaire consist of eight parts was applied to explore the oral findings after Covid-19. Also stimulated salivary flow rate was evaluated with a salivary flow test. Results 177 patients reached and 107 of them participate in the study. Regarding gender significant differences were found in terms of the presence of taste impairment after treatment ( p =0.007), the degree of taste ( p =0.021) and smell ( p =0.010) impairment. 18 % (5/27) of the patients evaluated were showed hyposalivation. No significant differences were observed regarding salivary flow between males (mean±SD: 1.14±0.65) and females (mean±SD: 1.12±0.43), ( p =0.928); among the patients having treatment at home (mean±SD: 1.03±0.48) or hospital (mean±SD: 1.33±0.65), ( p =0.187). In some of the patients’ taste [15], smell [23] impairment, and xerostomia [43] still observed at least two weeks after the treatment is completed. Conclusions The most frequent finding in patients after the treatment was xerostomia. Taste and smell impairments were more frequently observed in females. Key words: Saliva, oral findings, hyposalivation, Covid-19.

Oral Manifestations in Patients with COVID-19: A 6-Month Update

“…Conceptually, xerostomia represents a subjective sensation of dry mouth, while hyposalivation is the objective sign of reduced salivary flow (Nederfors 2000;Dawes 2004). Most studies included in this updated LSR evaluated xerostomia by simple questionnaires (Biadsee et al 2020;Chen et al 2020;Sinjari et al 2020;Abubakr et al 2021) or validated ones (Fantozzi et al 2020;Freni et al 2020), except for Omezli and Torul (2021), who properly quantified the salivary flow.…”

“…Xerostomia was a new finding in this update, noted in 7 cross-sectional studies (Appendix 3). Almost all studies investigated xerostomia by questionnaires with self-reported answers, except that by Omezli and Torul (2021), which observed the objective reduction of salivary flow in 18% of patients, indicating the need for more specific analysis to confirm hyposalivation (Appendix 8). Thus, data from 1,017 patients with COVID-19 was pooled, and the metaanalysis showed a prevalence of 43% (95% CI = 36% to 50%, I 2 = 71%; Fig.…”

Characterization and Pathogenic Speculation of Xerostomia Associated with COVID-19: A Narrative Review

“…In the early phase of COVID-19 or during hospitalization, prevalence of xerostomia or dry mouth was 32.0-61.9% for Italian, Israeli, Iranian and Egyptian patients younger than 50 years old [6,7,[19][20][21] and 30.0-46.3% for Chinese and Italian patients older than 50 years old [8,14,15]. When following up after 4 weeks to 8 months from hospital dis-charge or symptom onset, xerostomia persisted in 14.4-40.2% of Turkish, Israeli and Colombian COVID-19 survivors younger than 50 years old [18,20,22] and in 24.6% of Italian COVID-19 survivors older than 50 years old [16]. Xerostomia was also reported by 47.6% of Egyptian patients aged mean 36.2 years who recovered from mild to moderate COVID-19 [17].…”

“…Their data analysis indicated that prevalence of dry mouth was 46.3% overall, 46.4% in females and 46.2% in males, showing no statistically significant difference between female and male patients. AbuBakr et al [17] and Omezli and Torul [18] assessed oral symptoms of 573 Egyptian patients who recovered from mild to moderate COVID-19 and 107 Turkish patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who were discharged from hospital, respectively. Although xerostomia persisted in 40.2-47.6% of these COVID-19 survivors, the statistical analysis showed no significant differences in prevalence between females and males (p = 0.5 in the Egyptian cohort [17] and p = 0.928 in the Turkish cohort [18]).…”

“…AbuBakr et al [17] and Omezli and Torul [18] assessed oral symptoms of 573 Egyptian patients who recovered from mild to moderate COVID-19 and 107 Turkish patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who were discharged from hospital, respectively. Although xerostomia persisted in 40.2-47.6% of these COVID-19 survivors, the statistical analysis showed no significant differences in prevalence between females and males (p = 0.5 in the Egyptian cohort [17] and p = 0.928 in the Turkish cohort [18]). Biadsee et al [20] followed up with 97 Israeli COVID-19 patients after 8 months from the RT-PCR negative results and demonstrated that 8.2% of female COVID-19 survivors and 6.2% of male COVID-19 survivors complained of xerostomia (14.8% in 54 females and 14.0% in 43 males, p = 0.905).…”