Olfactory and Gustatory Dysfunctions In 100 Patients Hospitalized For Covid-19: Sex Differences and Recovery Time In Real-Life

Abstract

Purpose. COVID-19 displays a variety of clinical manifestations; in pauci-symptomatic patients olfactory (OD) and gustatory dysfunctions (GD) may represent the first or only symptom. To date, literature addressing these disorders is scarce. Aim of this study is to investigate the timing of recovery from OD and GD in a real-life COVID-19 population.Methods. We followed up by a phone interview the first 100 patients discharged a month earlier from three Italian non-intensive care wards.Results. All patients were Caucasian, mean age was 65 years, 60% were males. OD and GD were early symptoms reported by 29% and 41% of patients, respectively. Among the 42 symptomatic patients, the male/female ratio was 2:1; 83% reported an almost resolved dysfunction at follow-up. The recovery rate was not significantly different between males and females. The mean duration of OD and GD was 18 and 16 days, respectively. The mean recovery time from OD or GD resulted significantly longer for females than for males (26 vs 14 days, p=0.009). Among the 42 symptomatic, the mean age of males was significantly higher than that of females (66 vs 57 years, p=0.04), while the opposite was observed in the 58 asymptomatic patients (60 vs 73 years, p=0.0018).Conclusions. Recovery from OD or GD was rapid, occurring within 4 weeks in most patients. Chemosensory dysfunctions in women was less frequent, but longer lasting. The value of our study is its focus on a significantly older population than those previously described, and to add further data on gender differences.

Massive transient damage of the olfactory epithelium associated with infection of sustentacular cells by SARS-CoV-2 in golden Syrian hamsters

“…Indeed, recent studies highlight a relatively fast recovery (~15 days) (Dell'Era et al, 2020;Meini et al, 2020), compatible with the observed partial recovery of the OE in hamsters 14 DPI. SARS-CoV-2 is more deadly in men than women (Jin et al, 2020), but this is not clear yet if the anosmia affects both gender equally (Dell'Era et al, 2020;Meini et al, 2020). However, the recovery of olfaction seems longer in women (Dell'Era et al, 2020;Meini et al, 2020).…”

“…SARS-CoV-2 is more deadly in men than women (Jin et al, 2020), but this is not clear yet if the anosmia affects both gender equally (Dell'Era et al, 2020;Meini et al, 2020). However, the recovery of olfaction seems longer in women (Dell'Era et al, 2020;Meini et al, 2020). As we only studied female hamsters, more experiments are needed to decipher a gender impact of SARS-CoV-2 in the OE.…”

Prevalence and recovery time of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in hospitalized patients with COVID‑19 in Wuhan, China

“…In our cohort, 64.1% of patients with chemosensory disorders were female. However, Meini et al (2020) showed that women are less likely to develop chemosensory disorders compared with men. Clearly, sex differences in patients with COVID-19 with OD or GD still require further study.…”

Understanding the Pathophysiology of COVID-19: Could the Contact System Be the Key?

“…Most symptomatic COVID-19 patients display manifestations such as fever (98.6%), dry cough (59.4%), dyspnea (31.2%), myalgias (34.8%), sore throat (17.4%), diarrhea (10.1%), and other ( 5 ). Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions are common symptoms, occurring in about 50% of patients and often presenting early in the clinical course ( 6 , 7 ). Low blood pressure values are frequently observed in hospitalized patients: Wang et al ( 5 ) in their cohort reported a median of mean arterial pressure values of 90 mmHg despite 31% of patients having a history of hypertension.…”