Comprehensive Chemosensory Psychophysical Evaluation of Self-reported Gustatory Dysfunction in Patients With Long-term COVID-19
Paolo Boscolo‐Rizzo, Thomas Hummel, Claire Hopkins, Andrea D’Alessandro, Anna Menini, Michele Dibattista, Giancarlo Tirelli
Abstract
Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions are among the most commonly self-reported symptoms of COVID-19, with a substantial fraction of patients still reporting them after the acute phase of the disease. 1,2 A substantial body of evidence has demonstrated the effect of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on olfaction, 3 although few observations exist regarding a direct involvement of the virus in the pathogenesis of gustatory impairment. hile the correlation between self-reported olfactory function and psychophysical tests has been extensively analyzed, showing poor agreement between the 2 types of evaluation, no robust data exist concerning the gustatory function. o establish whether psychophysical tests confirm a selfreported alteration of taste, we assessed a series of patients selfreporting a persistent distorted perception of basic tastes after COVID-19 using a comprehensive gustatory and olfactory psychophysical evaluation.