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Objective evaluation of anosmia and ageusia in COVID ‐19 patients: Single‐center experience on 72 cases
Author(s) -
Vaira Luigi Angelo,
Deiana Giovanna,
Fois Alessandro Giuseppe,
Pirina Pietro,
Madeddu Giordano,
De Vito Andrea,
Babudieri Sergio,
Petrocelli Marzia,
Serra Antonello,
Bussu Francesco,
Ligas Enrica,
Salzano Giovanni,
De Riu Giacomo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.26204
Subject(s) - anosmia , covid-19 , hyposmia , medicine , taste , audiology , olfactory system , psychology , psychiatry , pathology , neuroscience , disease , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background The first 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 two patients. Gustatory assessment revealed hypogeusia in 33 cases and complete ageusia in one 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.