Prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients

Mohammad Bayat; Amirmohammad Arabi; Amirali Assadi; Saina Nezami Nia; Masoud Mortezazadeh; Abdolreza Mohamadnia; Naghmeh Bahrami

doi:10.18502/jcr.v8i1.7152

Mohammad Bayat Craniomaxillofacial Research Center, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran,Iran.
Amirmohammad Arabi Craniomaxillofacial Research Center, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran,Iran.
Amirali Assadi Craniomaxillofacial Research Center, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran,Iran.
Saina Nezami Nia Craniomaxillofacial Research Center, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran,Iran.
Masoud Mortezazadeh Internal medicine department, sina hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abdolreza Mohamadnia Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD),Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Naghmeh Bahrami Craniomaxillofacial Research Center, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran,Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jcr.v8i1.7152

Keywords: COVID-19, Olfactory Dysfunction, Anosmia, Early detection

Abstract

Back ground: Nowadays COVID-19 has become a pandemic in which global society experience multiple difficulties in management. It seems that olfactory dysfunction is one of the early occurring symptoms of this viral infection and many patients just show this symptom after they got infected. Considering so, olfactory dysfunction especially a decline in olfaction could potentially be used for screening purposes and preventing the disease to spread.

Methods: 50 PCR-verified SARS-CoV-2 infected participants were assessed about their olfactory function adequacy using a Modified Version of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) for the Iranian population called Iran Smell Identification Test (Iran-SIT). Participants scores were compared against normal population scores in this test and possible correlations of age and scores were explored as well

Results: Participants with SARS-CoV-2 infection generally obtained lesser scores in the mentioned test which means they experience a decline in olfactory function more, significantly. Aging also has a negative correlation with olfaction adequacy.

Conclusion: Based on this article’s finding, olfactory function decrease is more frequent among SARS-CoV-2 infected people and potentially could be a suggestive indicator for screening programs. This indicator should be interpreted concerning patients’ age.