tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
BMC Infect Dis
. 2021 Jun 26;21(1):612.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-021-06294-2.
Presence of gustatory and olfactory dysfunction in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic
Alexander Kusnik[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Christel Weiss[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Melanie Neubauer[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Bianca Huber[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Marlis Gerigk[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Thomas Miethke[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Nicole Hunter[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Nicole Rotter[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Sonja Ludwig[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Angela Schell[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Matthias P Ebert[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Andreas Teufel[SUP] 7 8 9 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: The unexpected outbreak of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused more than 49 million cases and an estimated 2,000,000 associated deaths worldwide. In Germany, there are currently more than 2,000,000 laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases including 51,800 deaths. However, regional differences also became apparent and with the second wave of infections, the detailed characterization of COVID-19 patients is crucial to early diagnosis and disruption of chains of infections.
Methods: Handing out detailed questionnaires to all individuals tested for COVID-19, we evaluated the clinical characteristics of negative and positive tested individuals. Expression of symptoms, symptom duration and association between predictor variables (i.e. age, gender) and a binary outcome (olfactory and gustatory dysfunction) were assessed.
Results: Overall, the most common symptoms among individuals who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were fatigue, headache, and cough. Olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were also reported by many SARS-CoV-2 negative individuals, more than 20% of SARS-CoV-2 negative tested individuals in our study reported olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. Independent of SARS-CoV-2 status, more females displayed symptoms of gustatory (29.8%, p = 0.0041) and olfactory dysfunction (22.9%, p = 0.0174) compared to men.
Conclusions: Bringing early SARS-CoV-2 tests to the populations at risk must be a main focus for the upcoming months. The reliability of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in COVID-19 negative tested individuals requires deeper investigation in the future.
Keywords: Anosmia; COVID; COVID-19; COVID-19 negative Dysgeusia; Gustatory; Hyposmia; Loss; Olfaction; Olfactory; SARS-CoV-2; Smell; Taste.
. 2021 Jun 26;21(1):612.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-021-06294-2.
Presence of gustatory and olfactory dysfunction in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic
Alexander Kusnik[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Christel Weiss[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Melanie Neubauer[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Bianca Huber[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Marlis Gerigk[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Thomas Miethke[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Nicole Hunter[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Nicole Rotter[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Sonja Ludwig[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Angela Schell[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Matthias P Ebert[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Andreas Teufel[SUP] 7 8 9 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34174816
- DOI: 10.1186/s12879-021-06294-2
Abstract
Background: The unexpected outbreak of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused more than 49 million cases and an estimated 2,000,000 associated deaths worldwide. In Germany, there are currently more than 2,000,000 laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases including 51,800 deaths. However, regional differences also became apparent and with the second wave of infections, the detailed characterization of COVID-19 patients is crucial to early diagnosis and disruption of chains of infections.
Methods: Handing out detailed questionnaires to all individuals tested for COVID-19, we evaluated the clinical characteristics of negative and positive tested individuals. Expression of symptoms, symptom duration and association between predictor variables (i.e. age, gender) and a binary outcome (olfactory and gustatory dysfunction) were assessed.
Results: Overall, the most common symptoms among individuals who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were fatigue, headache, and cough. Olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were also reported by many SARS-CoV-2 negative individuals, more than 20% of SARS-CoV-2 negative tested individuals in our study reported olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. Independent of SARS-CoV-2 status, more females displayed symptoms of gustatory (29.8%, p = 0.0041) and olfactory dysfunction (22.9%, p = 0.0174) compared to men.
Conclusions: Bringing early SARS-CoV-2 tests to the populations at risk must be a main focus for the upcoming months. The reliability of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in COVID-19 negative tested individuals requires deeper investigation in the future.
Keywords: Anosmia; COVID; COVID-19; COVID-19 negative Dysgeusia; Gustatory; Hyposmia; Loss; Olfaction; Olfactory; SARS-CoV-2; Smell; Taste.