Olfactory Dysfunction: A Highly Prevalent Symptom of COVID-19 With Public Health Significance.

Publication/Presentation Date

7-1-2020

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic affecting millions of individuals, killing hundreds of thousands. Although typically described with characteristic symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath, greater understanding of COVID-19 has revealed myriad clinical manifestations. Olfactory dysfunction (OD)-hyposmia and anosmia-has recently been recognized as an important symptom of COVID-19 and increasingly gained traction as a public health tool for identifying COVID-19 patients, in particular otherwise asymptomatic carriers who, unawares, may be major drivers of disease spread. The objective of this study is to review the scientific evidence about anosmia in COVID-19.

DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science.

REVIEW METHODS: Comprehensive literature search of primary studies pertinent to the objectives of this review using the chosen data sources.

CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence shows that OD is highly prevalent in COVID-19, with up to 80% of patients reporting subjective OD and objective olfactory testing potentially showing even higher prevalence. OD is frequently accompanied by taste dysfunction. Up to 25% of COVID-19 patients may experience sudden-onset OD as the first symptom. A large proportion of COVID-19 OD cases may resolve over the period of a few weeks.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Sudden anosmia should be considered a symptom of COVID-19. Assessing for sudden-onset anosmia may increase sensitivity of COVID-19 screening strategies, in particular for identifying patients at the earliest stages of disease. Since many cases of OD due to COVID-19 may resolve in the short term, conservative management, including observation, is reasonable, while advanced imaging is unnecessary.

Volume

163

Issue

1

First Page

12

Last Page

15

ISSN

1097-6817

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

PubMedID

32366160

Department(s)

Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology

Document Type

Article

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