What Is the Long-Term Findings of Olfactory and Taste Loss due to COVID-19?

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine prevalance, severity, course, and long-term findings of smell and taste disorders of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in mild-moderate and severe-critical disease spectrum.
Methods: All adult patients conducted in our hospital with positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 between March and April 2020 were surveyed during disease course and those with olfactory and taste loss were re-surveyed to determine the course and progress of these symptoms after at least 12-month follow-up. Demographic features and clinical findings were evaluated as well as disease severity.
Results: A total of 77 patients with smell and/or taste loss symptoms were included in the study. At diagnosis, 58 (75.3%) patients had loss of smell and 75 (97.4%) had loss of taste. After a follow-up period of 12–14 months, 12 (15.6%) patients had ongoing loss of smell and six (8%) patients had ongoing loss of taste. Three (3.9%) patients complained of cacosmia and 5 (6.5%) complained of parosmia at follow-up. The presence of ongoing visual analog scale scores of smell and/or taste was not statistically significant between male and female patients. When presence and severity of symptoms were compared by disease severity, no statistically significant difference was found.
Conclusion: Smell and taste loss seem to be among the presenting symptoms of COVID-19. The prognosis and the treatment of the smell loss and taste loss in COVID-19 patients remains unclear. To improve and accelerate recovery, the pathophysiology and the treatment options must be validated.

COVID-19’a baðlý uzun dönem koku ve tat bozukluklarý bulgularý nelerdir?

Amaç: Hafif-orta ve aðýr-kritik þiddetli Covid-19 hastalarýnda koku ve tat bozukluklarýnýn prevalansýný, þiddetini ve uzun dönem seyri ve bulgularýný belirlemek.
Materyal Metod: Hastanemizde MART-Nisan 2020 tarihleri arasýnda SARS-CoV-2 pozitif olan tüm eriþkin hastalara hastalýk sýrasýnda anket uygulanmýþ ve en az 12 aylýk takipten sonra tat ve koku bozukluðu olan hastalara bu semptomlarýn seyrini ve ilerlemesini belirlemek için ikinci bir anket uygulandý. Demografik özellikler ve klinik bulgularý ile hastalýk þiddeti deðerlendirildi.
Bulgular: Koku ve/veya tat bozukluðu semptomlarý olan toplam 77 hasta çalýþmaya dahil edildi. Taný sýrasýnda 58 (% 75.3) hastada koku bozukluðu ve 75 (%97.4) hastada tat bozukluðu mevcuttu. 12-14 aylýk takip sonrasý 12 (% 15.6) hastada devam eden koku bozukluðu ve 6 (% 8) hastada tat bozukluðu bulgularý devam ediyordu. Takiplerde 3 (%3.9) hastanýn kakosmisi ve 5 ( % 6.5) hastanýn parozmisi mevcuttu. Koku ve/veya tat bozukluðu devam eden hastalarýn VAS skorlarý deðerlendirildiðinde erkek ve kadýn cinsiyeti arasýnda istatistiksel anlamlý fark saptanmadý. Semptomlarýn varlýðý ve þiddeti ile hastalýðýn þiddeti karþýlaþtýrýldýðýnda istatistiksel anlamlý fark saptanmadý.
Sonuç: Koku ve tat bozukluðu COVID-19’un mevcut semptomlarý arasýnda görünmektedir. COVID-19 hastalarýndaki koku ve tat kaybýnýn prognozu ve tedavisi halen belirsizdir. Ýyileþmeyi hýzlandýrmak ve saðlamak için patofizyoloji ve tedavi seçenekleri belirlenmelidir. (SETB-2022-09-209)