Assessment of Smell and Taste Disorders in COVID-19: A Cross-sectional Study

pa.ythelady61 shared this article with you from Inoreader Assessment of Smell and Taste Disorders in COVID-19: A Cross-sectional Study Via Journal of Craniofacial Surgery - Published Ahead-of-Print Background: It has been reported worldwide that patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 usually suffer a loss of smell and taste. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between the severity of the disease and the loss of smell and taste. In addition, we evaluated patients' smell and taste functions after recovery. Methods: Between March and May 2020, 418 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were divided into 3 groups: home-quarantined, hospitalized, and intensive care patients. The disease, smell, and taste functions of patients were evaluated with visual analog scores before diagnosis of COVID-19, during the disease, and fourth week after recovery. The types of smell loss and types of taste flavor loss occurring during the disease were questioned. Results: In all 3 groups, changes in smell and taste loss during the disease were statistically detected (P = 0.001). The smell loss rates determined in groups 1 to 3 were 45%, 43.7%, and 31.2%, respectively. The taste loss rates determined in groups 1 to 3were 46.6%, 32.1%, and 31.2% respectively. The rate of patients with a total recovery of smell loss in groups 1 to 3 were 95.5%, 93.7%, and 100%, respectively (P = 0.768). The rate of patients with a total recovery of taste loss in groups 1 to 3 were 97.1%, 91.4%, and 100%, respectively (P = 0.423). Conclusion: COVID-19 causes significant loss of smell and taste in patients. The loss of smell and taste does not correlate with the severity of COVID-19 disease. The loss of smell and taste improves at a high rate after the disease. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Suphi Bulğurcu, Sultan Abdülhamid Han Training and Research Hospital, Haydarpaşa, Istanbul 34668, Turkey; E-mail: suphibulg@yahoo.com Received 1 October, 2020 Accepted 21 October, 2020 The authors report no conflicts of interest. Supplemental digital contents are available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal's Web site (www.jcraniofacialsurgery.com). © 2020 by Mutaz B. Habal, MD. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.