ABSTRACT
Introduction: Anosmia is the loss of the ability to detect one or more smells which can affect 3–20% of the population. The disorder divides into two types: congenital and acquired. Aim: The objective of the study is to demonstrate the differences in social adaptation, quality of life and clinical features between patients with congenital and acquired anosmia. Material and methods: Survey that contained questions about the quality of life, taste disorders, genesis of anosmia, perception from the trigeminal nerve, etc. was provided at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic thus the vast majority of patients did not suffer from COVID-19 at that time. People affected by hyposmia were removed from our research. A level of P < 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance. Results: A total of 331 patients completed the survey. Patients with acquired anosmia rated their quality of life lower than patients with congenital anosmia in EQ-VAS. As many as 44.6% of people with acquired anosmia claimed that their quality of life decreased mainly in the aspect of feeling pleasure, whereas 40.7% of people with congenital anosmia claimed that none of the aspects of their life decreased. Taste disorders rarely occur in the group of people with congenital anosmia in comparison to the group of people with acquired anosmia (11.5% vs 38.7%). Trigeminal nerve dysfunction two times more often accompanies acquired anosmia than congenital anosmia. Conclusion: People with acquired anosmia tolerate anosmia worse than people with congenital anosmia. Congenital anosmia significantly differs from acquired anosmia. More research in the field of anosmia needs to be conducted. Copyright: Polish Society of Otorhinolaryngologists Head and Neck Surgeons. Published by Index Copernicus Sp. z o.o.
ABSTRACT
Our work aimed to review the literature about sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) treatment and the approach to this problem during the COVID-19 pandemic. Current knowledge on SSNHL was sought and presented based on literature published in English-language journals from the Master Journal List. We searched for articles in the MEDLINE, PubMed, and Scopus databases. Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is a relatively common pathology in otolaryngology. The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery published guidelines for managing SSNHL, specifying systemic and intratympanic (IT) steroid therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) as the optional adjunctive treatment. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the standard treatment of SSNHL needed to be verified to identify possible interference of virus infection with pharmacological and hyperbaric therapy. The general use of standard treatment of SSNHL with steroids and HBO according to internationally approved guidelines should ensure safe medical procedures due to epidemiological restrictions. Potential relations between COVID-19 and SSNHL, as well as concomitant use of anticoagulants, should be investigated. © Polish Otorhinolaryngology Review.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: COVID-19 is a disease caused by pathogenic ββ-coronavirus. As a relatively new disease, diagnosis of COVID-19 is highly problematic and because of non-specific symptoms the infection must be confirmed with molecular tests. Aim: Evaluation of the most common COVID-19 symptoms and statistical analysis of obtained data in order to confirm significant correlations between symptoms and age and sex of the examined patients. Material and methods: A questionnaire has been carried out among 751 patients of Center for Blood Donation in Gdansk and the Department of Otolaryngology in Gdansk. The patients were convalescents after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The presence of virus was confirmed by a positive PCR test of RNA of the SARS-CoV-2 virus of each patent. The study has been carried out since the beginning of the presence of COVID-19 in Pomerania region till April 2021. Results: Results of the questionnaires presented the most common general and otolaryngological symptoms of COVID-19. Collected data was statistically analyzed. Patients were divided according to age and sex. 30.2% of patients had severe clinical course of infection, 69.8% had mild clinical course. The most common general symptom associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection was fatigue, which was more common among women. Other common symptoms were loss of smell and taste, also more common among women, and muscle and joint pain. The most common other otolaryngological symptoms were sore throat and vertigo, all more frequent in men. Conclusion: The study presents the correlation between incidence of COVID-19 disease symptoms and age and sex of patients. Fatigue, loss of smell and taste and muscle and joint pain were the most common symptoms of the infection. Presented data highlights the meaning of further research on COVID-19 symptoms. © 2021 Index Copernicus International. All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is one of the biggest healthcare challenges that the medical environment has needed to face since many, many years. Clinicians all over the world present their recommendations for everyday procedures in order to provide safety to the medical staff as well as to patients. The disease leads to ARDS in many cases and some patients will require prolonged intubation;therefore, to avoid the negative aspects of this condition, a number of patients will undergo tracheostomy. Tracheostomy is an aerosol-generating procedure, therefore, when performed on a SARS-CoV-2-positive patient, there is a high risk of contamination both of the medical team and the operating theatre. Aim: We describe a set of guidelines that we believe should minimize those risks. We focus on aspects like: Presurgical testing, proper preparation of the operating theatre prior to the patients' arrival, initial education of the medical staff participating in the surgery, patient' transport and tracheostomy. We describe the critical points during every step and suggest ways to minimalize the risk of viral transmission. © 2020 Index Copernicus International. All rights reserved.