ABSTRACT
The experimental group included 68 children over 6 years of age who had recovered from COVID-19. The control group included 22 children over 6 years of age who have never had COVID-19. Research methods included neurological examination, verification of cognitive status, examination by an otolaryngologist, and smell and taste assessment. The examination was performed 6-8 weeks after COVID-19 recovery and after 1 year in some patients. Children who recovered from COVID-19 had a reduction in their ability to smell compared to children who had never had COVID-19. The olfactory thresholds and taste identification scores after recovery from COVID-19 were identical, whether the parents had reported anosmia in their children during COVID-19 or not, and irrespective of hyperthermia level and the presence or absence of headache and hyperhidrosis during COVID-19. Analysis of correlation with neuropsychiatric symptoms showed no differences in the olfactory thresholds in children irrespective of the presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms (tics, tremors, enuresis, compulsive movements, seizures, speech disorders, attention deficit, and easy fatigability) both in general, and in particular among subjects performing or not any compulsive movements, and experiencing or not a combination of easy fatigability and daytime sleepiness. Evidence suggests that in children and adolescents, partial hyposmia is associated with depressive symptoms, varying in severity from low to high, but symptoms of depression were not caused by COVID-19 infection itself. Analysis in subgroups with different degrees of state and trait anxiety did not reveal any significant differences in the olfactory threshold. A re-examination of 21 children was performed after 1 year. An objective olfactometric examination showed that the sensitivity to odorants increased significantly. In 1 year, we compared the thresholds of smell in children who had COVID-19 and those who did not have this disease: olfactory sensitivity after COVID-19 in children is restored to normal values. Schulte correction test showed that none of 14 children with asthenic manifestations in the form of fluctuations or exhaustion when performing the test immediately after COVID-19 had these manifestations after 1 year. Thus, asthenization of cognitive activity was recorded within the next 1.5 months after suffering from COVID-19 but was absent after 1 year.
ABSTRACT
The aim of the study is to estimate olfaction in post-COVID-19 children.Research methods. The study included 81 children, they were divided into two groups: those who had COVID-19 and those who had not.Survey procedures. Pediatrician, neurologist and otolaryngologists clinical examinations, cognitive status estimation, olfactometry were performed.Results. The olfaction perception threshold post-COVID-19 children and adolescents was higher than in children who have not undergone this infection. Changes in olfaction perception threshold did not depend on how participants and their parents informed about the sense of smell. The involvement of olfactory sensitivity in the pathological process does not depend on the infection severity itself or premorbid neurological lesion.Conclusion. It has been shown for the first time in the Russian sample that changes in sense of smell persist in children 3-4 weeks after recovery from COVID-19. Цель исследования - оценка обоняния у детей после перенесенной COVID-19.Методы исследования. В исследование был включен 81 ребенок, исследуемые были поделены на две группы сопоставимые по полу и возрасту: перенесшие COVID-19 и не перенесшие.Методика обследования. Клинические осмотры педиатра, невролога, оториноларинголога, оценка когнитивного статуса, ольфактометрия.Результаты. У детей и подростков, перенесших COVID-19, порог обоняния оказался выше, чем у детей, не перенесших инфекцию. Изменение порога обоняния не зависело от того, как информировали об обонянии сами участники и их родители. Вовлечение в патологический процесс обонятельной чувствительности не зависит от тяжести самой инфекции или преморбидного неврологического повреждения.Заключение. Впервые на российской выборке показано, что еще через 3-4 нед после выздоровления от COVID-19 у детей сохраняются изменения обоняния.