SARS COV-2 and other viral etiology as a possible clue for the olfactory dilemma

Abstract

Background Post-viral anosmia is responsible for more than 40% of cases of anosmia. Anosmia has been a neglected symptom in the primary healthcare setting until the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection highlighted new atypical symptoms of the disease, including anosmia, which has become one of the diagnostic symptoms of the disease, and epidemiological concern. We aimed to detect the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection within patients presented with anosmia and to test for other respiratory viruses in the negative COVID-19 patients. We also detected the recovery of anosmia and IgM/IgG against COVID-19. We prospectively included 60 outpatients with the major complaint of anosmia. Nasopharyngeal swabs were done for SARS-CoV-2 real-time PCR, and if negative, PCR to other respiratory pathogens was tested. After one month, we inquired about the recovery of smell loss together with testing for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Results Sixty patients were enrolled in the study. Forty-six patients (76.7%) were SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive and 14 (23.3%) were negative. Rhinovirus was the commonest isolated pathogen in the negative cases (5/14). Complete recovery of anosmia occurred in 34 patients (56.7%), while partial recovery in 24 (40.0%), and no recovery in 2 patients (3.3%). The median time to complete recovery was 10 days. 28.3% (13/46) of the patients showed negative antibody response for both IgG and IgM. Conclusions Sudden-onset anosmia is a symptom that is highly predictive of being COVID-19-infected. While recovery is expected within 2 weeks, some patients have no antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.