Self-reported loss of smell without nasal obstruction to identify COVID-19. The multicenter Coranosmia cohort study.
J Infect
; 81(4): 614-620, 2020 Oct.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-635718
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To determine the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 positive samples in a subset of patients consulting for primarily isolated acute (<7 days) loss of smell and to assess the diagnostic accuracy of olfactory/gustatory dysfunction for COVID-19 diagnosis in the overall population tested for COVID-19 in the same period.METHODS:
Prospective multicentric cohort study in four olfactory ENT units and a screening center for COVID-19.RESULTS:
i) Among a subset of 55 patients consulting for primarily recent loss of smell, we found that 51 (92.7%) had a COVID-19 positive test (median viral load of 28.8 cycle threshold). Loss of smell was mostly total (anosmia), rarely associated with nasal obstruction but associated with a taste disorder in 80%. Olfactory dysfunction occurred suddenly, either as first complaint or preceded by mild symptoms occurring a median of 3 days. The majority of patients (72.9%) partially recovered the sense of smell within 15 days. ii) In a population of 1824 patients tested for COVID-19, the positive predictive value and the specificity of loss of smell and/or taste were 78.5% and 90.3% respectively (sensitivity (40.8%), negative predictive value (63.6%)).CONCLUSIONS:
Self-reported loss of smell had a high predictive positive value to identify COVID-19. Making this sign well known publicly could help to adopt isolation measures and inform potential contacts.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Taste Disorders
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Olfaction Disorders
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
J Infect
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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