Olfactory and taste dysfunction among mild-to-moderate symptomatic COVID-19 positive health care workers: An international survey.
Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol
; 5(6): 1019-1028, 2020 Dec.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-954943
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To determine the prevalence of olfactory and taste dysfunction (OD; TD) among COVID-19 positive health care workers (HCWs), their associated risk factors and prognosis.METHODS:
Between May and June 2020, a longitudinal multicenter study was conducted on symptomatic COVID-19 PCR confirmed HCWs (COVID-19 positive) in London and Padua.RESULTS:
Hundred and fourteen COVID-19 positive HCWs were surveyed with a response rate of 70.6% over a median follow-up period of 52 days. UK prevalence of OD and TD was 73.1% and 69.2%, respectively. There was a male to female ratio of 13 with 81.6% being white, 43.7% being nurses/health care assistants (HCAs), and 39.3% being doctors. In addition, 53.2% of them worked on COVID-19 wards. Complete recovery was reported in 31.8% for OD and 47.1% for TD with a 52 days follow-up. The job role of doctors and nurses negatively influenced smell (P = .04 and P = .02) and taste recovery (P = .02 and P = .01). Ethnicity (being white) showed to positively influence only taste recovery (P = .04). Sex (being female) negatively influenced OD and TD recovery only in Paduan HCWs (P = .02 and P = .011, respectively). Working on a COVID-19 ward did not influence prognosis.CONCLUSIONS:
The prevalence of OD and TD was considerably higher in HCWs. The prognosis for OD and TD recovery was worse for nurses/HCAs and doctors but working on a COVID-19 ward did not influence prognosis. Sixty-eight percent of surveyed HCWs at 52 days continued to experience OD or TD requiring additional future medical management capacity. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 4.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Journal:
Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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