Self-reported loss of smell without nasal obstruction to identify COVID-19. The multicenter Coranosmia cohort study

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 Anosmia Dysguageusia Loss of smell Positive predictive value Viral load s u m m a r y Objectives: To determine the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 positive samples in a subset of patients consulting for primarily isolated acute (< 7 days) loss of smell and to assess the diagnostic accuracy of olfactory/gustatory dysfunction for COVID-19 diagnosis in the overall population tested for COVID-19 in the same period. Methods: Prospective multicentric cohort study in four olfactory ENT units and a screening center for COVID-19. Results: i) Among a subset of 55 patients consulting for primarily recent loss of smell, we found that 51 (92.7%) had a COVID-19 positive test (median viral load of 28.8 cycle threshold). Loss of smell was mostly total (anosmia), rarely associated with nasal obstruction but associated with a taste disorder in * Corresponding author.

Diagnostic accuracy of symptoms as a diagnostic tool for SARS-CoV 2 infection: a cross-sectional study in a cohort of 2,173 patients&nbsp;

“…The most prevalent symptoms were: asthenia, headache and cough (63.36%, 60.22% and 60. 08% respectively), similar to those reported in other series (16,19,20) . The symptomatology that was signi cantly associated to the SARS-CoV-2 infection was the presence of anosmia, with an OR of 3.…”

“…The second analytical model that included symptoms signi cantly associated with the SARS-CoV-2 infection (3 or more symptoms) such as anosmia, myalgia, asthenia, headache, eye pain, and malaise, yielded a sensitivity of 91.2% and speci city of 55.6% for SARS-CoV-2 positivity. Salmon et al, (19) performed a prospective, multicenter observational study at 5 hospitals in Paris to determine the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients with a loss of sense of smell; and to analyze the diagnostic accuracy of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction for the diagnosis of COVID-19. A total of 1,824 patients were included in the second phase of the study, out of whom 849 (46.5%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.…”

Self-rated smell ability enables highly specific predictors of COVID-19 status: a case control study in Israel

“…The change in smell ability is not related to nasal obstruction, as nose blockage was low, in accord with previous studies [7,23]. Taste and chemesthesis changes strongly correlate with smell change (also shown and discussed by Parma [7]).…”

Magnetic resonance imaging of COVID-19 anosmic patients reveals abnormalities of the olfactory bulb: Preliminary prospective study

“…The multicenter CORANOSMIA cohort study. 1 ” Loss of smell without nasal obstruction was commonly found in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), accounting for more than 50% of Western patients. 2 The main suspected etiological mechanism consists of the virus spread through the neuroepithelium of the olfactory cleft and a related neuronal cell destruction.…”