Incidence of Olfactory and Gustatory Dysfunctions in the Early Stages of COVID-19: An Objective Evaluation

Abstract

Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a dangerous infectious disease caused by a newly discovered severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that has various clinical presentations. Numerable cases with non-specific olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in COVID-19 have been reported from all over the globe. This is important as awareness will let people to self-isolate and help in limiting disease spread. Objective To objectively evaluate the frequency of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction, which may occur independently or with other symptoms, in laboratory confirmed COVID-19 patients at an early stage of the disease. Methods Objective evaluation of olfactory and gustatory function of 322 COVID-19 patients treated at our hospital, (SMGS, Government Medical College, Jammu), from August 2020 until November 2020. Results Our study population included 127 (39.4%) males and 195 (60.6%) females. Two hundred and twenty-six (70.2%) COVID-19 patients experienced olfactory and gustatory disorders. One hundred and sixty-five (51.2%) cases experienced both olfactory and gustatory disorders. Isolated olfactory dysfunction was reported in 34 (10.6%) patients, while 27 (8.4%) patients experienced only gustatory dysfunction. Conclusion The olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions, without any nasal obstruction or rhinorrhea, are significant symptoms in the clinical presentation of early COVID-19 patients. This presentation can be recognized at the earliest one, and it can reduce the high communicability of the COVID-19 disease.

Perfil epidemiológico dos pacientes com anosmia após contaminação pelo vírus SARS-CoV-2 em uma cidade no oeste do Paraná

“…Inicialmente, a anosmia e a hiposmia não foram atribuídos como sintomas característicos da infecção pelo SARS-CoV-2, visto que tais sintomas geralmente não são correlacionados às infecções de vias aéreas superiores, mas alguns estudos relataram que existe uma relação entre esses sintomas e a covid-19 e Centros de Controle e Prevenção de Doenças incluíram a perda do olfato à lista de sintomas que aparecem entre 2 a 14 dias após a exposição ao vírus (Manhas et al, 2022). Somado a isso, relatou-se, também, que a hiposmia ou a anosmia pode estar presente no paciente de forma isolada, sem a presença de outros sintomas (Han et al, 2020).…”