Olfactory Dysfunction in COVID-19 Patients: Findings from a Tertiary Rural Centre

Abstract

Olfactory and/or taste dysfunction are potential neurological manifestations of coronavirus disease -2019 . The aim of the study was to document the prevalence of anosmia in COVID-19 positive patients and analyze the effect of various factors on the occurrence of these chemosensory dysfunction in the local population. Tertiary referral center. Prospective Study. 250 subjects who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and admitted in Isolation ward were enrolled for the study. Data was collected from the subjects via oral questionnaire method, based on the AAO-HNS Anosmia Reporting Tool. Data was collected regarding the age, gender, olfactory or gustatory disturbances, history of recent travel or contact with a positive case, smoking, any associated symptoms, any co-morbid conditions and recovery time of sense of olfaction. Out of 250, 179 (71.6%) subjects were diagnosed with Olfactory dysfunction out of which majority were males, 105 (58.6%). Most of the patients were above 40 years of age (n = 184, 73.6%). Majority of the individuals (88 patients) had close contact with a positive case in recent past, followed by 67 patients who were health care workers, hence proving that risk of infection increases with exposure. Anosmia was present in 68.5% of all the 127 non-smokers. 66.4% had both olfactory as well as gustatory dysfunction whereas 18 patients (7.2%) were found to be totally asymptomatic. Mostly patients recovered their sense of smell within 1-2 weeks from the day of onset of anosmia. Presence of olfactory dysfunction of any degree with or without alteration in taste sensation should raise a suspicion of COVID-19 infection, especially when other classical signs are not present. In such conditions, swabs should be sent for confirmation by RT-PCR testing and till results are awaited, the individual should be shifted to quarantine facilities or advised strict self-isolation.

Objective Evaluation of Olfactory and Taste Dysfunction Among COVID-19 Patients: A Cross Sectional Study from Tribal India

“…In our study, 45.5% of subjects (102/ 224) reported of having one or both problems, either loss of taste or loss of smell during the course of infection. This frequency is much higher than the frequency reported in the anamnestic-observational studies done by Varghese et al, (12.0%) and Kou et al, (27.6%) but lower than Thakur et al, (72.0%) study [20][21][22].…”

The D614G Virus Mutation Enhances Anosmia in COVID-19 Patients: Evidence from a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Studies from South Asia

“…45 − 56 We compared such data with the results obtained in 25 studies reporting on 25 cohorts with a total of 9626 South Asian patients from the Indian subcontinent (India and Bangladesh) and Oman, when the G614 virus had become dominant ( Table 1 , illustrated in Figure 3 A and B). 6 , 57 − 80 The differences in results between the two types of cohorts are shown in the forest plots ( Figure 4 A). The pooled prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in the same ethnicity (South Asians) in regions with D614 predominance was 5.33% (95% confidence interval, CI = 3.52–8.00%), while in regions with G614 predominance, it was 31.79% (95% CI = 23.26–41.76%) ( Figure 4 A, C).…”

Olfactory dysfunction at six months after coronavirus disease 2019 infection

“…[3][4][5] Olfactory dysfunction has been shown to occur in patients acutely infected with SARS-CoV-2 at rates of 25-98 per cent. 1,2,[6][7][8][9] This large variability in reported rates of olfactory dysfunction is likely multifactorial, with sizeable differences in sample size between studies, and with some using subjective reports of smell loss and others using objective testing methods. Of note, individuals with mild Covid-19 tend to have higher rates of olfactory dysfunction than those with severe disease.…”