The association of gustatory dysfunction, olfactory dysfunction, and cognition in older adults.

BACKGROUND: The association of gustatory dysfunction (GD) with quality of life (QOL) and cognition in older adults is understudied. Our objective was to study the prevalence of GD in the community and explore impacts and associated factors. METHODS: A prospective, multi-institutional, pre-corona virus disease (COVID) cohort of adults aged 50 years and older had smell and taste testing using "Sniffin' Sticks" (TDI) and "Taste Strips." The impact of GD on mood, QOL, and social interaction was assessed through visual analog scales. Subjects completed the Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders, Patient Health Questionnaire 9, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and the DeJong scale of loneliness. RESULTS: A total of 48 patients, average age of 54.7 years, were enrolled. Thirty-two percent experienced GD on taste strips, and 62% experienced olfactory dysfunction (OD) on TDI. Almost 30% (29.5%) had both GD and OD. GD and OD correlated with worsened cognitive function on MMSE (r = 0.392 and 0.05, p = 0.018 and 0.003). Subjects with both GD and OD had worse MMSE than either alone (p = 0.003). Dry mouth and difficult chewing correlated with GD (r = -0.37 and -0.31, p = 0.10 and 0.37). Self-reported GD and OD were correlated (r = 0.46, p = 0.001), as were psychophysical GD and OD (r = 0.394, p = 0.008). GD did not correlate with other metrics. CONCLUSION: Thirty-two percent of subjects experienced GD on psychophysical testing, yet most are unaware without impacts on daily life. However, GD correlates with worsened cognitive function. Taste testing may play a role in screening of neurocognitive decline, and multisensory dysfunction may indicate of worsened cognitive states.

Antibody response, associated symptoms and profile of patients presumably infected by SARS-CoV-2 with taste or smell disorders in the SAPRIS multicohort study.

BACKGROUND: Taste or smell disorders have been reported as strongly associated with COVID-19 diagnosis. We aimed to identify subject characteristics, symptom associations, and antibody response intensity associated with taste or smell disorders. METHODS: We used data from SAPRIS, a study based on a consortium of five prospective cohorts gathering 279,478 participants in the French general population. In the analysis, we selected participants who were presumably infected by SARS-CoV-2 during the first epidemic wave. RESULTS: The analysis included 3,439 patients with a positive ELISA-Spike. Sex (OR = 1.28 [95% CI 1.05-1.58] for women), smoking (OR = 1.54 [95% CI 1.13-2.07]), consumption of more than 2 drinks of alcohol a day (OR = 1.37 [95% CI 1.06-1.76]) were associated with a higher probability of taste or smell disorders. The relationship between age and taste or smell disorders was non-linear. Serological titers were associated with taste or smell disorders: OR = 1.31 [95% CI 1.26-1.36], OR = 1.37 [95% CI 1.33-1.42] and OR = 1.34 [95% CI 1.29-1.39] for ELISA-Spike, ELISA-Nucleocapsid and seroneutralization, respectively. Among participants with taste or smell disorders, 90% reported a wide variety of other symptoms whereas 10% reported no other symptom or only rhinorrhea. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with a positive ELISA-Spike test, women, smokers and people drinking more than 2 drinks a day were more likely to develop taste or smell disorders. This symptom was strongly associated with an antibody response. The overwhelming majority of patients with taste or smell disorders experienced a wide variety of symptoms.

Impact of COVID-19-Mediated Olfactory Loss on Quality of Life.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 can be associated with a variety of longer-lasting impairments that can have a significant impact on patients' quality of life (QoL). While this is well described in the literature for limitations in lung capacity or permanent headaches, there is little research on the impact of olfactory dysfunction in the context of COVID-19 on patients' QoL. METHODS: In 65 patients with a history of COVID-19, the present olfactory ability was assessed using the Sniffin' Sticks test. In addition, olfactory QoL was assessed by the Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders. Self-assessment was performed with visual analogue scales. The data were compared with the results obtained in healthy individuals and in patients with hyposmia due to other viral infections. RESULTS: The QoL of COVID-19 patients was significantly lower compared to the healthy control group. Even recovered subjects whose olfaction had already returned to the normal range still had a reduced QoL. The severity of the olfactory impairment correlated with the reduction in QoL. However, the olfactory QoL of COVID-19 patients was not worse than that of patients' olfactory loss due to other viral infections. Patients with parosmia had reduced QoL and rated their situation worse than patients without parosmia. CONCLUSION: QoL appears to be impaired in patients with long-lasting COVID-19 olfactory disorders several months after overcoming acute symptoms, even if olfaction has normalized. However, the impairment is not more pronounced than in patients with other postviral olfactory disorders of the same duration.

Targeting Neuroinflammation to Alleviate Chronic Olfactory Dysfunction in Long COVID: A Role for Investigating Disease-Modifying Therapy (DMT)?

Chronic olfactory dysfunction after SARS-CoV-2 infection occurs in approximately 10% of patients with COVID-19-induced anosmia, and it is a growing public health concern. A regimen of olfactory training and anti-neuroinflammatory therapy with co-ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide with luteolin (um-PEA-LUT) has shown promising results in clinical trials; however, approximately 15% of treated patients do not achieve full recovery of a normal olfactory threshold, and almost 5% have no recovery. Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), which are used to treat autoimmune neuroinflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS), have not been studied for treating persistent inflammation in refractory post-COVID-19 smell disorder. This study evaluated COVID-19-related smell loss and MS-related smell loss, comparing the responses to different therapies. Forty patients with MS and 45 reporting post-COVID-19 olfactory disorders were included in the study. All patients underwent nasal endoscopy and were evaluated by using validated Sniffin' Sticks testing. The patients with long COVID were treated for three months with um-PEA-LUT plus olfactory training. The patients with MS were treated with DMTs. Olfactory functions before and after treatment were analyzed in both groups. At the experimental endpoint, 13 patients in the COVID-19 group treated with um-PEA-LUT had residual olfactory impairment versus 10 patients in the MS group treated with DMTs. The severity of the persistent olfactory loss was lower in the MS group, and the patients with MS treated with IFN-beta and glatiramer acetate had the preservation of olfactory function. These data provide a rationale for considering prospective trials investigating the efficacy of DMTs for post-COVID-19 olfactory disorders that are refractory to um-PEA-LUT with olfactory training. This study is the first to consider the role of DMT in treating refractory post-viral olfactory loss in patients with long COVID.

Characteristics of Patients Seeking Treatment for "Brain Fog" Secondary to Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) in the Deep South

Objective: Describe those with persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms seeking treatment for Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). Method: Patients were referred for neuropsychological evaluation from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Post-COVID Treatment Program. Ninety-seven patients completed a comprehensive set of self-report questionnaires. Results: Patients were 49 years old (range: 18 to 74), had 15.49 years (SD = 2.43) of education, and identified as female (77%), married (51%), and White/Caucasian (73%) or Black/AA (25%). Reported annual income ranged from ≤ $20,000 (11%) to ≥ $100,000 (32%), with 75% currently employed. Confirmed positive test result for COVID-19 was reported in 88%, with 87% having the original virus and 13% the Delta variant, based on estimated dates of infection. Symptoms during the acute illness included: headache (76%), fever (51%), cough (57%), shortness of breath (56%), and loss of smell or taste (54%). Most of the participants were not hospitalized (76%) nor required oxygen therapy (78%). Persistent symptoms included: headache (55%), shortness of breath (53%), muscle and joint pain (53%), cough (17%), congestion (40%) and loss of smell or taste (25%). Of these participants, 87% reported they had not returned to their baseline health because of COVID-19 and most indicated impaired job performance following COVID-19 infection. Conclusion: Those who sought treatment for persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms following a symptomatic course of COVID-19 were commonly middle aged, White, women, with at least a high school education. "Brain fog" secondary to PASC can result in reported persistent health and neuropsychiatric issues that can impact ability to work. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Analysis of Prevalence and Predictive Factors of Long-Lasting Olfactory and Gustatory Dysfunction in COVID-19 Patients.

BACKGROUND: Although smell and taste disorders are highly prevalent symptoms of COVID-19 infection, the predictive factors leading to long-lasting chemosensory dysfunction are still poorly understood. METHODS: 102 out of 421 (24.2%) mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients completed a second questionnaire about the evolution of their symptoms one year after the infection using visual analog scales (VAS). A subgroup of 69 patients also underwent psychophysical evaluation of olfactory function through UPSIT. RESULTS: The prevalence of chemosensory dysfunction decreased from 82.4% to 45.1% after 12 months, with 46.1% of patients reporting a complete recovery. Patients older than 40 years (OR = 0.20; 95% CI: [0.07, 0.56]) and with a duration of loss of smell longer than four weeks saw a lower odds ratio for recovery (OR = 0.27; 95% CI: [0.10, 0.76]). In addition, 28 patients (35.9%) reported suffering from parosmia, which was associated with moderate to severe taste dysfunction at the baseline (OR = 7.80; 95% CI: [1.70, 35.8]). Among the 69 subjects who underwent the UPSIT, 57 (82.6%) presented some degree of smell dysfunction, showing a moderate correlation with self-reported VAS (r = -0.36, p = 0.0027). CONCLUSION: A clinically relevant number of subjects reported persistent chemosensory dysfunction and parosmia one year after COVID-19 infection, with a moderate correlation with psychophysical olfactory tests.

Effect of Ultra-Micronized Palmitoylethanolamide and Luteolin on Olfaction and Memory in Patients with Long COVID: Results of a Longitudinal Study.

In this study, we investigated whether treatment with palmitoylethanolamide and luteolin (PEA-LUT) leads to improvement in the quantitative or qualitative measures of olfactory dysfunction or relief from mental clouding in patients affected by long COVID. Patients with long COVID olfactory dysfunction were allocated to different groups based on the presence ("previously treated") or absence ("naïve") of prior exposure to olfactory training. Patients were then randomized to receive PEA-LUT alone or in combination with olfactory training. Olfactory function and memory were assessed at monthly intervals using self-report measures and quantitative thresholds. A total of 69 patients (43 women, 26 men) with an age average of 40.6 + 10.5 were recruited. PEA-LUT therapy was associated with a significant improvement in validated odor identification scores at the baseline versus each subsequent month; assessment at 3 months showed an average improvement of 10.7 + 2.6, CI 95%: 6-14 (p < 0.0001). The overall prevalence of parosmia was 79.7% (55 patients), with a significant improvement from the baseline to 3 months (p < 0.0001), namely in 31 patients from the Naïve 1 group (72%), 15 from the Naïve 2 group (93.7%), and 9 from the remaining group (90%). Overall, mental clouding was detected in 37.7% (26 subjects) of the cases, with a reduction in severity from the baseline to three months (p = 0.02), namely in 15 patients from the Naïve 1 group (34.8%), 7 from the Naïve 2 group (43.7%), and 4 from the remaining group (40%). Conclusions. In patients with long COVID and chronic olfactory loss, a regimen including oral PEA-LUT and olfactory training ameliorated olfactory dysfunction and memory. Further investigations are necessary to discern biomarkers, mechanisms, and long-term outcomes.

Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 patients with chemosensory disorders

Introduction: Chemosensory disorders have been identified as typical symptoms of COVID-19. Objective: To characterize patients with COVID-19 and referred chemosensory disorders. Methods: One hundred and fifty-two hospitalized patients, positive for COVID-19, with referred chemosensory disorders were included. Clinical and epidemiological variables, inflammation markers, chest X-ray and treatment used were studied. Results: The average age was 40.2 years, the female sex 59.2%. The antecedent of confirmed case contact (62.5 %), anosmia (95.7 %), ageusia (93.3 %), and the absence of comorbidities (53.3 %) and accompanying symptoms (36.8 %), prevailed. In patients with an indeterminate source of infection, confirmation was late (3.89 days);there were no significant differences between those who presented one or both disorders (p = 0.053), nor between those who did or did not present associated symptoms (p = 0.14). In 2 % the neutrophil index was greater than 4;3.3 % had an absolute lymphocyte count lower than 1500x106/L and 68.4 % did not show radiological alteration. Antimicrobials were required in 5.9 % and immunomodulators in 5.3 %;1.3 % were admitted to intensive care. Most (95.4 %) were discharged from the clinic and 1.3 % died. Conclusions: The female sex predominates, with ageusia or anosmia;those who do not have an epidemiological background are diagnosed with delay. There are no differences in seeking care, for one or both disorders, or for accompanying symptoms. Chemosensory disorders are more referred in the absence of complications and severe disease. Those who refer them spontaneously are generally healthy and oligosymptomatic people. © 2021, Editorial Ciencias Medicas. All rights reserved.

Analyzing Citizens' and Health Care Professionals' Searches for Smell/Taste Disorders and Coronavirus in Finland During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Infodemiological Approach Using Database Logs.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has prevailed over a year, and log and register data on coronavirus have been utilized to establish models for detecting the pandemic. However, many sources contain unreliable health information on COVID-19 and its symptoms, and platforms cannot characterize the users performing searches. Prior studies have assessed symptom searches from general search engines (Google/Google Trends). Little is known about how modeling log data on smell/taste disorders and coronavirus from the dedicated internet databases used by citizens and health care professionals (HCPs) could enhance disease surveillance. Our material and method provide a novel approach to analyze web-based information seeking to detect infectious disease outbreaks. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was (1) to assess whether citizens' and professionals' searches for smell/taste disorders and coronavirus relate to epidemiological data on COVID-19 cases, and (2) to test our negative binomial regression modeling (ie, whether the inclusion of the case count could improve the model). METHODS: We collected weekly log data on searches related to COVID-19 (smell/taste disorders, coronavirus) between December 30, 2019, and November 30, 2020 (49 weeks). Two major medical internet databases in Finland were used: Health Library (HL), a free portal aimed at citizens, and Physician's Database (PD), a database widely used among HCPs. Log data from databases were combined with register data on the numbers of COVID-19 cases reported in the Finnish National Infectious Diseases Register. We used negative binomial regression modeling to assess whether the case numbers could explain some of the dynamics of searches when plotting database logs. RESULTS: We found that coronavirus searches drastically increased in HL (0 to 744,113) and PD (4 to 5375) prior to the first wave of COVID-19 cases between December 2019 and March 2020. Searches for smell disorders in HL doubled from the end of December 2019 to the end of March 2020 (2148 to 4195), and searches for taste disorders in HL increased from mid-May to the end of November (0 to 1980). Case numbers were significantly associated with smell disorders (P<.001) and taste disorders (P<.001) in HL, and with coronavirus searches (P<.001) in PD. We could not identify any other associations between case numbers and searches in either database. CONCLUSIONS: Novel infodemiological approaches could be used in analyzing database logs. Modeling log data from web-based sources was seen to improve the model only occasionally. However, search behaviors among citizens and professionals could be used as a supplementary source of information for infectious disease surveillance. Further research is needed to apply statistical models to log data of the dedicated medical databases.

Covid-19: Signs and symptoms related to the feeding behavior.

COVID-19 reached pandemic level in March 2020 and the number of confirmed cases continued to increase worldwide. The clinical course of the disease has not yet been fully characterized, and some specific symptoms related to smell, taste, and feeding behavior require further examination. The present study aimed to assess the presence of symptoms related to the feeding behavior occurred during and/or after COVID-19 in adults residing in Portugal and to link them to disease severity using a multivariate approach. Data were collected from May to September 2020, through a questionnaire answered online containing questions about general and specific symptoms before, during and after COVID-19. 362 participants were included: 201 were symptomatic, being 15 hospitalized and 186 non-hospitalized. Cluster analysis grouped the symptomatic non-hospitalized participants as mild and severe cases. For these patients, the most frequent symptoms related to the feeding process were smell disorders in 40% and 62%, taste disorders in 37% and 60%, and dry mouth, in 23% and 48% of the mild and severe cases, respectively. Dry mouth was significantly associated with difficulty to swallow, pain during swallow, choking when eating or drinking, and preference for mushy/pasty foods (p < 0.01; Chi-squared test). Among the severe cases, the incidence of coughing during the meal (31%), difficulty (19%) and pain during swallow (17%), preference for mushy/pasty foods (10%) and choking when eating or drinking (6%) were clinically relevant and may indicate the presence of swallowing disorders. This group also showed a higher frequency of general symptoms, such as fever, headache, abdominal pain, tiredness, diarrhea, nausea, and shortness of breath (p < 0.05; Chi-squared test). Smell disorders, taste disorders and dry mouth were the most frequent symptoms related to the feeding behavior for both mild and severe cases. Dry mouth was significantly associated with swallowing difficulties and future research should investigate it as a frequent symptom and as a predictive of the presence of eating and swallowing disorders in COVID-19 cases.

Patients with COVID-19-associated olfactory impairment also show impaired trigeminal function.

OBJECTIVE: Next to olfactory function, the nose can also perceive chemestetic sensations mediated by the trigeminal nerve. While olfactory dysfunction as a symptom of COVID-19 is well described, there has been little research on the limitation of other nasal sensory inputs due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The aim of this study was to determine possible limitations of nasal chemesthesis after COVID-19 infection by a psychophysiological diagnostic tool. METHODS: In 65 patients with a PCR-confirmed, former COVID-19 disease, olfaction was tested by means of a sniffin' sticks test, tasting by taste sprays and chemesthesis with a menthol dilution series. The subjective self-assessment of the patients was recorded via a questionnaire. RESULTS: We found a restriction of nasal chemesthesis and the extent correlated with the loss of smell, as well as with the values of the taste score, but not with subjective self-assessment. CONCLUSION: Not only the ability to smell and taste, but also nasal chemesthesis is affected by COVID-19.

Otolaryngology-Specific Symptoms May Be Highly Observed in Patients With a History of Covid-19 Infection After Inactivated Coronavirus Vaccination.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the otolaryngology-specific symptoms that occur after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine and its possible side effects in patients who had Covid-19 infection in the last 6 months before the vaccination. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study comprised 3383 health care workers who were vaccinated against Covid 19. After excluding, the study was conducted with 1710 (51%) participants who agreed to answer the study questions. The participants were divided into 2 groups according to the history of Covid-19 positivity in the last 6 months before vaccination. The presence of symptoms related to otolaryngology practice, including cough, nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, sore throat, hearing loss, dizziness, loss of smell, loss of taste, ear pressure, and facial paralysis was recorded. RESULTS: The mean age of the study population was 35.79 ± 10.2 (19-71) years and 1454 (85%) of the patients had a history of Covid-19 infection in the last 6 months. Regarding otolaryngology-related symptoms, the most common complaints were rhinorrhea (4.4%), sore throat (3.2%), and nasal congestion (2.9%). The presence of smell and taste loss, nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, sore throat, and hearing loss was significantly more common in patients with a history of Covid-19 infection. CONCLUSIONS: The patients with a history of Covid-19 disease might have otolaryngology-specific symptoms more commonly than those without a history of Covid-19 disease in the last 6 months before vaccination.

Assessment of mucociliary clearance as an indicator of nasal function in patients with COVID-19: a cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: We assessed the effects of COVID-19 infection on nasal mucociliary activity. METHODS: The study was conducted in the pandemic wards of Adiyaman University Training and Research Hospital during April and May 2020. All patients admitted to the COVID-19 pandemic wards during the study period were invited to participate in the study. The study included 40 adults who agreed to participate and underwent a mucociliary clearance test successfully. The primary outcome was mucociliary clearance time and the secondary variables of interest were age, sex, and sino-nasal outcome test-22 scores. The control group included 40 concomitant healthy patients who visited the outpatient ear, nose and throat clinic with non-nasal symptoms. RESULTS: The study included 40 COVID-19-positive patients and 40 healthy controls. The mean mucociliary clearance times of the study (15.53 ± 5.57 min) and control (9.50 ± 3.70 min) groups were significantly different (Z = 4.675, p < 0.001). However, the mucociliary clearance time was not significantly different between males and females (t = 0.590, p = 0.558). CONCLUSIONS: Nasal mucociliary clearance time was prolonged in COVID-19 patients compared to healthy controls. Thus, we conclude that smell and taste are crucial symptoms that should not be overlooked in patients suspected of COVID-19 disease.

Persisting olfactory dysfunction improves in patients 6 months after COVID-19 disease.

BACKGROUND: Smell disorders persist in about half of the patients with other symptoms of COVID-19 disease, but the exact duration of the symptoms is yet unknown. Especially, only a few studies used validated olfactory tests for this. AIMS/OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate how many patients with olfactory function impairment, which was detected in a validated olfactory test 3 months after COVID-19 disease, showed improvement in olfactory function after 6 months. METHODS: About 26 patients with a PCR-confirmed, former COVID-19 disease, with an impaired olfactory function after three months, were included in the study. The olfactory function was evaluated with the sniffing sticks test, the taste function with taste sprays. RESULTS: Smelling function improved in all but one patient (96%). All measured subitems, i.e. olfactory threshold, identification and discrimination of odours significantly improved. In the whole mouth taste test all patients showed normal taste function. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: 6 months after COVID-19 disease, olfactory function improves in just about all patients. Long-term measurements must investigate whether complete regeneration of the olfactory function will occur in all patients.

The outcome of fluticasone nasal spray on anosmia and triamcinolone oral paste in dysgeusia in COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND: To study the outcome of fluticasone nasal sprays in smell disorders and triamcinolone paste in taste dysfunction in a population of laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 patients as the test group. The control group will not be given any intervention and only monitoring of these symptoms will be done to compare the recovery time. METHODS: This prospective interventional study was conducted from June to Nov 2020 at, Datta Meghe University during the COVID-19 outbreak. The 120 enrolled patients were tested at days 1 and 5 after proven infection by RT-PCR test. RESULT: The mean age for all cases is 50.88 ± 15.93 years, whereas for the controls mean age is 51.2 ± 14.89. 2. Among cases 45 (75%) were males and 15 (25%) were females, among controls 43 (71.66%) were males and 17 (28.33%) were females. Among the case group, after the use of fluticasone spray in the nose and triamcinolone paste in the mouth there was a statistically significant improvement in recognizing all the odours and taste on day 5 compared to day 1. On comparing the smell and taste of cases and control group, either there is no improvement or worsening in smell or taste on day 5 in the control group. CONCLUSION: The use of fluticasone nasal spray and triamcinolone paste had immensely influenced the basic senses such as smell and taste. Our study showed that olfactory and taste function significantly improved in patients with COVID-19. For all anosmia and dysgeusia cases who received fluticasone nasal spray and triamcinolone medications the recovery of smell senses and the taste was within a week.

Objective evaluation and predictive value of olfactory dysfunction among patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: Olfactory dysfunction is a frequent feature of COVID-19. Despite the growing evidence, current knowledge on the subject remains insufficient, so that data obtained with different tools, from multiple centers and in distinct scenarios are welcome. Yet, the predictive value of olfactory dysfunction in terms of the overall prognosis of COVID-19 is unknown. This study aims to evaluate the olfactory function of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and the impact of the results on their clinical outcomes. METHODS: Patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) admitted to a university tertiary hospital were recruited and divided into those with ARDS due to COVID-19, and those with ARDS of any other cause. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected at baseline and the patients had their objective olfactory function evaluated by the Alcohol Sniff Test on admission and during hospital stay. The participants were then followed up until reaching an endpoint: hospital discharge, endotracheal intubation, transfer to the intensive care unit, or death. Patients with COVID-19 were also subgrouped and compared according to their olfactory thresholds and to their overall clinical outcomes. The obtained data was analyzed using R software. Level of significance was set at 0.05. RESULTS: Eighty-two patients were included (of which 58 had COVID-19). 87.93% of the patients with COVID-19 had diminished olfactory dysfunction on admission. The mean length of hospital stay among patients with olfactory dysfunction was greater (7.84 vs 6.14 days) and nine individuals in this subgroup had poor overall outcomes. None of those with normal olfactory function developed critical COVID-19. The mean olfactory function was significantly worse among patients with COVID-19 and poor outcomes (3.97 vs 7.90 cm, P = .023). CONCLUSION: Objective olfactory dysfunction is frequent in ARDS caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients with longitudinal poorer outcomes present worse olfactory thresholds on admission.