Taste and Smell Impairment in COVID-19: An AAO-HNS Anosmia Reporting Tool-Based Comparative Study

• Published in: Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery Vol. 163; no. 3; pp. 473 - 479
• Main Authors: Sayin, İbrahim, Yaşar, Kadriye Kart, Yazici, Zahide Mine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.09.2020
• Subjects: Adult; anosmia; Betacoronavirus; chemosensory; coronavirus; Coronavirus Infections - complications; COVID-19; dysgeusia; Female; Humans; Male; Olfaction Disorders - diagnosis; Olfaction Disorders - etiology; Pandemics; Pneumonia, Viral - complications; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; SARS-CoV-2; Surveys and Questionnaires; Taste Disorders - diagnosis; Taste Disorders - etiology; COVID-19; chemosensory; coronavirus; dysgeusia; anosmia
• ISSN: 0194-5998; 1097-6817
• DOI: 10.1177/0194599820931820

Objective To identify the taste and smell impairment in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)–positive subjects and compare the findings with COVID-19–negative subjects using the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Anosmia Reporting Tool. Setting Tertiary referral center/COVID-19 pandemic hospital. Study Design Comparative study. Subjects and Methods After power analysis, 128 subjects were divided into 2 groups according to real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) COVID-19 testing results. Subjects were called via telephone, and the AAO-HNS Anosmia Reporting Tool was used to collect responses. Results The mean age of the study group was 38.63 ± 10.08 years. At the time of sampling, rhinorrhea was significantly high in the COVID-19–negative group, whereas those complaints described as “other” were significantly high in the COVID-19–positive group. There was a significant difference in the smell/taste impairment rates of the groups (n = 46% [71.9%] for the COVID-19–positive group vs n = 17 [26.6%] for the COVID-19–negative group, P = .001). For subjects with a smell impairment, anosmia rates did not differ between the groups. The rates of hyposmia and parosmia were significantly high in the COVID-19–positive group. For the subjects with taste impairment, ageusia rates did not differ between groups. The rate of hypogeusia and dysgeusia was significantly high in the COVID-19–positive group. Logistic regression analysis indicates that smell/taste impairment in COVID-19–positive subjects increases the odds ratio by 6.956 (95% CI, 3.16-15.29) times. Conclusion COVID-19–positive subjects are strongly associated with smell/taste impairment.