Open AccessCoronaviruses and the Chemical Senses: Past, Present, and Future
Author(s) -
Robert Pellegrino,
Keiland W Cooper,
Antonella Di Pizio,
Paule V. Joseph,
Surabhi Bhutani,
Valentina Parma
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chemical senses
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.856
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1464-3553
pISSN - 0379-864X
DOI - 10.1093/chemse/bjaa031
Subject(s) - olfaction , covid-19 , pandemic , taste , coronavirus , anosmia , taste disorder , neuroscience , biology , intensive care medicine , medicine , virology , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , outbreak
A wealth of rapidly evolving reports suggests that olfaction and taste disturbances may be manifestations of the novel COVID-19 pandemic. While otolaryngological societies worldwide have started to consider chemosensory evaluation as a screening tool for COVID-19 infection, the true nature of the relationship between the changes in chemosensory ability and COVID-19 is unclear. Our goal with this review is to provide a brief overview of published and archived literature, as well as the anecdotal reports and social trends related to this topic up to April 29, 2020. We also aim to draw parallels between the clinical/chemosensory symptomology reported in association to past coronavirus pandemics (such as SARS and MERS) and the novel COVID-19. This review also highlights current evidence on persistent chemosensory disturbances after the infection has resolved. Overall, our analysis pinpoints the need for further studies: (1) to better quantify olfaction and taste disturbances associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, compared to those of other viral and respiratory infections, (2) to understand the relation between smell, taste, and chemesthesis disturbances in COVID-19, and (3) to understand how persistent are these disturbances after the infection has resolved.