Presence of gustatory and olfactory dysfunction in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic

BMC Infectious Diseases

Melanie Neubauer¹  Bianca Huber¹  Alexander Kusnik²  Matthias P. Ebert²  Andreas Teufel³  Angela Schell⁴  Nicole Rotter⁴  Sonja Ludwig⁴  Christel Weiss⁵  Nicole Hunter⁶  Marlis Gerigk⁶  Thomas Miethke⁷ 

[1] Department of Medicine II, University Medical Center Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany;Department of Medicine II, University Medical Center Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany;Clincial Cooperation Unit Healthy Metabolism, Center for Preventive Medicine Baden-Württemberg, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany;Department of Medicine II, University Medical Center Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany;Clincial Cooperation Unit Healthy Metabolism, Center for Preventive Medicine Baden-Württemberg, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany;Department of Medicine II, Division of Hepatology, Division of Clinical Bioinformatics, University Medical Center Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany;Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany;Department of Statistics, Biomathematics and Information Processing, Heinrich Lanz Center for Digital Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany;Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany;Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany;Mannheim Institute for Innate Immunoscience (MI3), Medical Faculty of Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany;

关键词: COVID;    COVID-19;    SARS-CoV-2;    Anosmia;    Smell;    Hyposmia;    COVID-19 negative Dysgeusia;    Taste;    Loss;    Gustatory;    Olfactory;    Olfaction;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12879-021-06294-2

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe 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.MethodsHanding 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.ResultsOverall, 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.ConclusionsBringing 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.

【 授权许可】

CC BY