Presence of gustatory and olfactory dysfunction in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
BMC Infect Dis
; 21(1): 612, 2021 Jun 26.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1282241
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The unexpected outbreak of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused more than 49 million cases and an estimated 2,000,000 associated deaths worldwide. In Germany, there are currently more than 2,000,000 laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases including 51,800 deaths. However, regional differences also became apparent and with the second wave of infections, the detailed characterization of COVID-19 patients is crucial to early diagnosis and disruption of chains of infections.METHODS:
Handing out detailed questionnaires to all individuals tested for COVID-19, we evaluated the clinical characteristics of negative and positive tested individuals. Expression of symptoms, symptom duration and association between predictor variables (i.e. age, gender) and a binary outcome (olfactory and gustatory dysfunction) were assessed.RESULTS:
Overall, the most common symptoms among individuals who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were fatigue, headache, and cough. Olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were also reported by many SARS-CoV-2 negative individuals, more than 20% of SARS-CoV-2 negative tested individuals in our study reported olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. Independent of SARS-CoV-2 status, more females displayed symptoms of gustatory (29.8%, p = 0.0041) and olfactory dysfunction (22.9%, p = 0.0174) compared to men.CONCLUSIONS:
Bringing early SARS-CoV-2 tests to the populations at risk must be a main focus for the upcoming months. The reliability of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in COVID-19 negative tested individuals requires deeper investigation in the future.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Taste Disorders
/
COVID-19
/
Olfaction Disorders
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
BMC Infect Dis
Journal subject:
Communicable Diseases
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S12879-021-06294-2
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