Objective evaluation of anosmia and ageusia in COVID-19 patients: a single-center experience on 72 cases.
Luigi Angelo Vaira
Abstract
Background. The firsts European case series are detecting a very high frequency of chemosensitive disorders in COVID-19 patients, ranging between 19.4% and 88%. Methods. Olfactory and gustatory function was objectively tested in 72 COVID-19 patients treated at University Hospital of Sassari. Results Overall, 73.6% of the patients reported having or having had chemosensitive disorders. Olfactory assessment showed variable degree hyposmia in 60 cases and anosmia in 2 patients. Gustatory assessment revealed hypogeusia in 33 cases and complete ageusia in 1 patient. Statistically significant differences in chemosensitive recovery were detected based on age and distance from the onset of clinical manifestations. Conclusion. Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions represent common clinical findings in COVID-19 patients. Otolaryngologists and head-neck surgeons must by now keep this diagnostic option in mind when evaluating cases of ageusia and nonspecific anosmia that arose suddenly and are not associated with rhinitis symptoms