Objective: The severe acute respiratory syndrome‐coronavirus‐2 pandemic is one of the largest of the recent times and can cause many symptoms including smell and taste disorders. In the literature, smell disorders caused by coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) have been reported within a wide range from 3.2% to 98.3%. A small number of these studies demonstrated smell and taste disorders through objective tests. Our aim in this study was to determine the prevalence of smell and taste disorders in hospitalized patients due to COVID-19 infection. Methods: The study was carried out with 100 patients who were positive for real-time polymerase chain reaction and treated at the Kayseri City Hospital, and 100 healthcare worker relatives. We used the Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center test to evaluate the sense of smell. Sense of taste was evaluated using four different standardized bottles of preparations, and the results were scored according to the patients’ statements. Results: Patient (Group 1) and control (Group 2) groups were compared for age, gender, smell and taste disorders. There were 39 women and 61 men in the patient group, and 40 women and 60 men in the control group. Mean age was 50.2±1.37 (range 21–70) years in Group 1 and 47.6±1.25 (range 18–70) years in Group 2, and there was no significant difference between the two groups. While the rate of smell disorder was 80% in Group 1, we found this rate as 35% in Group 2. Taste disturbance was identified in 38 patients, of whom 16 had mild hypogeusia, 17 had moderate hypogeusia, four had severe hypogeusia, and one patient had ageusia. We found that taste disorder was 38% in Group 1 and 3% in Group 2. Conclusion: Smell and taste dysfunctions are very common symptoms in COVID-19 patients. The results obtained using objective test methods are higher than the rates obtained from patient statements.

Aim: Acute invasive fungal rhinosinusitis (AIFRS) is a rare infection of the nose and paranasal sinuses that can be fatal. Infection may lead to tissue infarction, necrosis, and thrombosis and rapidly spread intracranially. The aim of this study is to highlight the increasing cases of AIFRS after covid-19 and to investigate the parameters affecting mortality. Material and Method: Total 11 patients diagnosed with AIFRS after COVID-19 were included in this study. Patient age, gender, comorbid diseases, initial symptoms, time between COVID-19 diagnosis and AIFRS diagnosis, intensive care hospitalization history, medical treatments, surgical findings, antifungal treatment, fungal species grown in culture, mortality, and the relationships of these parameters with mortality were also evaluated. Results: A total of 11 patients diagnosed with AIFRS after COVID-19 were included in the study. Among these patients, 81.8% were male, 18. 2% were female, and ages ranged from 57 years to 89 years. The mean time between COVID-19 infection and development of IFRS in patients was 26.09±18.04 days. The initial symptoms in 45.45% of the patients were unilateral periorbital edema, vision loss, and total ophthalmoplegia. The surgical approach was purely endoscopic in all patients. In our study, the mortality rate was 72.7% in COVID-19 related AIFRS patients. Conclusion: As a result, in our study, we found an increase in AIFRS incidence and mortality due to the systemic effects of COVID 19 and the treatments used for it. AIFRS should be suspected when a patient presents acute sinusitis symptoms after COVID-19 infection.