Olfactory and Gustatory Dysfunctions in Patients With Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 Infection: A Change in the Trend

Lal, Priti; Chamoli, Priyanka; Tuli, Isha Preet; Jaitly, Shweta; Sneha, S. N.; Sharma, Shilpam; Trehan, Sandeep

To study the presence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection in our set up. Longitudinal study, 1st March 2020-15th August 2020, at a tertiary care hospital. RT PCR positive for SARSCoV-2 patients, above 18 years age included. Excluding patients with previous history of changes in smell or taste sensation, severely ill at the time of admission, history of taking drugs at the time of COVID 19 infection that affect the smell or taste sensation. 435 patients included after obtaining an institutional ethical clearance. After an informed consent, these patients were followed up telephonically, to record any subjective improvement in olfactory or gustatory symptoms and an approximate duration of recovery. Olfactory and/or gustatory dysfunction 10.8% (47/435). Mean (SD) age—34.53(10.8) years. Females affected significantly more [X2 (1, N = 435) = 7.45, p value is 0.006, significant at p < 0.05]. Olfactory dysfunction significantly associated with gustatory dysfunction [X2 (1, n = 435) = 182.29, p < 0.00001]. 19.8% (N = 435) of individuals remained asymptomatic. Nasal symptoms rare (4%, N = 47). Mean (SD) recovery olfactory and gustatory dysfunction 12.1 (7.7) and10.8 (6.3) days respectively. Subjective loss of smell or taste dysfunction was far less common. Women and younger population reported olfactory or gustatory dysfunction commonly. Olfactory and gustatory changes without nasal symptoms, suspicion of COVID-19 infection is relevant. Recovery is complete and early.