Background

Olfactory dysfunction has shown to accompany COVID-19. There are varying data regarding the exact frequency in the various study population. The outcome of the olfactory impairment is also not clearly defined.

Objective

To find the frequency of olfactory impairment and its outcome in hospitalized patients with positive swab test for COVID-19.

Methods

This is a prospective descriptive study of 100 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, randomly sampled, from February to March 2020. Demographics, comorbidities, and laboratory findings were analyzed according to the olfactory loss or sinonasal symptoms. The olfactory impairment and sinonasal symptoms were evaluated by 9 Likert scale questions asked from the patients.

Results

Ninety-two patients completed the follow-up (means 20.1 (± 7.42) days). Twenty-two (23.91%) patients complained of olfactory loss and in 6 (6.52%) patients olfactory loss was the first symptom of the disease. The olfactory loss was reported to be completely resolved in all but one patient. Thirty-nine (42.39%) patients had notable sinonasal symptoms while rhinorrhea was the first symptom in 3 (3.26%). Fifteen patients (16.3%) had a taste impairment. Patients with sinonasal symptoms had a lower age (p = 0.01). There was no significant relation between olfactory loss and sinonasal symptoms (p = 0.07).

Conclusions

Sudden olfactory dysfunction and sinonasal symptoms have a considerable prevalence in patients with COVID-19. No significant association was noted between the sinonasal symptoms and the olfactory loss, which may suggest that other mechanisms beyond upper respiratory tract involvement are responsible for the olfactory loss.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 住院患者嗅觉障碍和鼻窦受累的频率和结果。

 背景

研究表明，COVID-19 会伴随嗅觉功能障碍。关于不同研究人群的确切频率有不同的数据。嗅觉障碍的结果也没有明确定义。

 客观的

旨在了解 COVID-19 拭子检测呈阳性的住院患者中嗅觉障碍的频率及其结果。

 方法

这是一项前瞻性描述性研究，对 2020 年 2 月至 3 月期间随机抽取的 100 名住院 COVID-19 患者进行了研究。根据嗅觉丧失或鼻窦症状对人口统计学、合并症和实验室检查结果进行了分析。通过向患者提出的 9 个李克特量表问题来评估嗅觉障碍和鼻鼻症状。

 结果

92 名患者完成了随访（平均 20.1 (± 7.42) 天）。 22 名（23.91%）患者主诉嗅觉丧失，其中 6 名（6.52%）患者以嗅觉丧失为首发症状。据报道，除了一名患者外，所有患者的嗅觉丧失都得到了完全解决。 39 例（42.39%）患者有明显的鼻鼻症状，其中 3 例（3.26%）患者以鼻漏为首发症状。 15 名患者（16.3%）有味觉障碍。有鼻窦症状的患者年龄较低（ p = 0.01）。嗅觉丧失和鼻窦症状之间没有显着关系（ p = 0.07）。

 结论

突发嗅觉功能障碍和鼻窦症状在 COVID-19 患者中相当普遍。鼻窦症状和嗅觉丧失之间没有发现显着关联，这可能表明除上呼吸道受累之外的其他机制也是导致嗅觉丧失的原因。