Sudden loss of smell and taste: clinical predictors of coronavirus disease 2019 infection.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed: to evaluate the association between coronavirus disease 2019 infection and olfactory and taste dysfunction in patients presenting to the out-patient department with influenza-like illness, who underwent reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing for coronavirus; and to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of olfactory and taste dysfunction and other symptoms in these patients. METHODS: Patients presenting with influenza-like illness to the study centre in September 2020 were included in the study. The symptoms of patients who tested positive for coronavirus on reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing were compared to those with negative test results. RESULTS: During the study period, 909 patients, aged 12-70 years, presented with influenza-like illness; of these, 316 (34.8 per cent) tested positive for coronavirus. Only the symptoms of olfactory and taste dysfunction were statistically more significant in patients testing positive for coronavirus than those testing negative. CONCLUSION: During the pandemic, patients presenting to the out-patient department with sudden loss of sense of smell or taste may be considered as positive for coronavirus disease 2019, until proven otherwise.

Health-related problems and effect of specific interventions in spinal cord injury. An outcome study in Northern India.

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the long-term health-related problems of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), to develop specific strategies targeted to minimize these problems, and to assess the effect of these interventions on long-term problems of SCI patients. METHODS: Fifty persons with SCI were surveyed for various secondary medical problems, specific interventions were carried out to ameliorate them, and follow-up assessment was performed six months later to examine the impact of these over time. RESULTS: At mean 3.7 years post-SCI, bladder problems (44%), neuropathic pain (42%), bedsores (36%) and spasticity (60%) were the major secondary medical problems and were responsible for medical interventions or hospitalization in the participants. Specific interventions directed towards minimizing health-related problems in SCI population were effective in terms of minimizing the intensity and incidence at six-month follow-up survey. Ninety-two percent of the patients in the present study were either very satisfied or satisfied with the specific interventions. CONCLUSION: The present study highlights that incidence of secondary medical problems in SCI population is high compared to the Western world and this issue needs an urgent attention. The outcomes of this study further substantiate that by paying attention to general principles of care for paraplegics and by developing specific strategies targeted to minimize these health-related problems, persons involved in the management and rehabilitation of SCI population can reduce the incidence and intensity of secondary medical problems.