Incidence and Analysis of Anosmia and Ageusia in Patients With Covid-19: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic, declared on March 11, 2020 by the World Health Organization, has brought a series of worldwide socioeconomic and demographic repercussions. Therefore, several studies have emerged to understand its mechanism of action, its clinical findings and sequelae during and after the disease period. As with viral conditions in general, the most common symptoms found so far are fever, cough, nasal congestion, fatigue, which can progress to more severe inflammatory conditions, such as pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, and even coursing with peculiarities known as anosmia and ageusia, the loss or alteration of smell and taste, respectively. The SARS-CoV-2 virus entry mechanism leads to a pro-inflammatory environment. Therefore, this viral artifice can disturb the functions of the olfactory and gustatory receptors, since these impulses added to the somatosensory factor are directly linked to the gustatory sensation to be more effective, bringing with it the symptom of anosmia and ageusia. As these symptoms are poorly studied at qualitative and quantitative levels and generate a lot of discomfort in affected individuals, this present study aims to investigate the incidence and characteristics of these conditions for a better understanding of this topic. After authorization through the Certificate of Ethical Appreciation Presentation number 52262821.9.0000.5496, an online questionnaire was carried out through the Google Forms platform, together with the consent form, which reached a total of 101 individuals affected by Covid-19 as of 2020. The results showed that 75.2% of those affected by Covid-19 had anosmia/ageusia, 87% had both symptoms at the same time and there are reports of their spread to the present day. Finally, this work tends to contribute to a better understanding of the behavior of this condition in patients affected by