Med Bull Sisli Etfal Hosp. 2022; 56(3): 334-342 | DOI: 10.14744/SEMB.2022.99399

Comparison of the Otolaryngological Symptoms of Laboratory-Confirmed and Clinically Diagnosed COVID-19 Patients

Senem Kurt Dizdar¹, Ugur Dogan¹, Egehan Salepci¹, Burcin Agridag², Merve Ekici¹, Alperen Aybal¹, Emine Celik³, Bilge Turk¹, Alican Coktur¹, Ilyas Dokmetas³, Suat Turgut^1
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Health Sciences Türkiye, Hamidiye Sisli Etfal Training and Research Hospital, Ýstanbul, Türkiye
²Department of Radiology, University of Health Sciences Türkiye, Hamidiye Sisli Etfal Training and Research Hospital, Ýstanbul, Türkiye
³Department of Infectious Disease, University of Health Sciences Türkiye, Hamidiye Sisli Etfal Training and Research Hospital, Ýstanbul, Türkiye

Objectives: Our aim is to determine prevalence, severity, duration of otorhinolaryngologic symptoms related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and correlation between the test results obtained by oronasopharyngeal swab and the symptoms of these regions by evaluating differences in ear, nose, and throat (ENT) symptoms between laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients and clinically and computed tomography (CT)-diagnosed COVID-19 patients.
Methods: The study enrolled patients with a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test diagnosed with COVID-19 that grouped as PCR (+), and those with repeated negative PCR tests but COVID-19 Reporting and Data System (CO-RADS) chest CT findings with high (CO-RADS 5) or very high (CO-RADS 6) similarity to COVID-19 that grouped as PCR(–)/CT(+). Demographic features, general symptoms, and otorhinolaryngological symptoms and severity of disease were evaluated and compared.
Results: The most common ENT symptoms in the PCR(+) group were loss of taste (n=77), loss of smell, and sore throat with respective frequencies of 34.5%, 31.8%, 26.0%, and in PCR(−) CT (+) group loss of taste, loss of smell, and sore throat with respective frequencies 24.6%, 21.1%, and 18.4%. ENT symptom rates were found higher in PCR (+) group (65.0%) according to PCR(–)/CT(+) group (49.1%) with statistically significant difference (p=0.008). Loss of smell rates were found higher in PCR (+) group according to PCR(–)/CT(+) group with statistically significant difference (p=0.037).
Conclusion: Loss of smell and taste were most common ENT symptoms in laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases. The presence of COVID-19 should definitely be considered in patients presenting with sudden loss of smell or taste. In addition, loss of smell and otolaryngologic symptoms were more common in laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 according to clinically and computed tomograpy diagnosed COVID-19 cases. There can be a correlation between positive sample region and symptom region. Location of symptoms must be considered for decision of sampling location.

Keywords: Anosmy, clinically diagnosed, computed chest tomography, coronavirus disease 2019, laboratory-confirmed, otolaryngological symptoms, smell loss

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Laboratuar Testleri Ýle Taný Konulan ve Klinik bulgular ile Taný Konulan COVID-19 Hastalarýnýn Kulak Burun Boðaz Semptomlarýnýn Karþýlaþtýrýlmasý

Senem Kurt Dizdar¹, Ugur Dogan¹, Egehan Salepci¹, Burcin Agridag², Merve Ekici¹, Alperen Aybal¹, Emine Celik³, Bilge Turk¹, Alican Coktur¹, Ilyas Dokmetas³, Suat Turgut^1
1Saðlýk Bilimleri Üniversitesi Hamidiye Þiþli Etfal Eðitim ve Araþtýrma Hastanesi, Kulak Burun Boðaz Anabilim Dalý, Ýstanbul
²Saðlýk Bilimleri Üniversitesi Hamidiye Þiþli Etfal Eðitim ve Araþtýrma Hastanesi Radyoloji Anabilim Dalý, Ýstanbul
³Saðlýk Bilimleri Üniversitesi Hamidiye Þiþli Etfal Eðitim ve Araþtýrma Hastanesi Enfeksiyon Hastalýklarý Anabilim Dalý, Ýstanbul

Amaç
Amacýmýz COVID-19 ile ilgili kulak burun boðaz semptomlarýnýn prevalansýný, þiddetini, süresini belirlemek ayrýca laboratuvar tarafýndan doðrulanmýþ COVID-19 hastalarý ile klinik ve bilgisayarlý tomografi ile teþhis edilmiþ COVID-19 hastalarý arasýndaki kulak burun boðaz (KBB) semptomlarýndaki farklýlýklarý ortaya koyarak; oro-nazofarenks sürüntüsü ile elde edilmiþ test sonuçlarý ile bu bölgeye ait semptomlar arasýnda ilþki kurmak.
Gereç ve Yöntem(ler)
Çalýþmaya, PCR testi pozitif olan hastalar (PCR (+)) ve tekrarlayan PCR testleri negatif olmasýna ragmen CO-RADS akciðer BT bulgularýnýn CoVID-19 ile uyumu yüksek (CO-RADS 5) veya çok yüksek (CO-RADS 6) olup kliniði COVÝD-19 ile uyumlu olan hastalar (PCR(–)/CT(+))dahil edildi. Demografik özellikler, genel semptomlar, kulak burun boðaz semptomlarý ve hastalýk þiddeti deðerlendirildi ve karþýlaþtýrýldý.
Bulgu(lar)
PCR(+) grubunda en sýk görülen KBB semptomlarý sýrasýyla tat kaybý ( n=77 %34.5), koku kaybý (%31.8) ve boðaz aðrýsýydý (%26.0); PCR(-) CT'de (+) grupta ise sýrasýyla tat kaybý (%24.6), koku kaybý (%21.1) ve boðaz aðrýsýydý ( %18.4). KBB semptomu görülme oraný PCR(+) grupta (%65,0), PCR(–)/CT(+) (%49,1) gruba göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlý farkla daha yüksekti (p=0,008). Koku kaybý oraný PCR(+) grupta PCR(–)/CT(+) gruba göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlý farkla daha yüksekti (p=0,037).
Sonuç(lar)
Koku ve tat kaybý ve boðaz aðrýsý, COVID-19 vakalarýnda sýk görülen KBB semptomlarý arasýndadýr. Ani koku veya tat kaybý ile baþvuran hastalarda covid-19 varlýðý düþünülmelidir. Üst solunum yollarýndan alýnan örnekle PCR(+) tanýsý alan hastalar ve klinik ve tomografi ile COVID-19 tanýsý konulmuþ hastalar arasýndaki üst solunum yolu semptomlarýnýn sýklýðý ve özellikle de koku kaybýnýn sýklýðý arasýndaki anlamlý fark pozitif test sonuçlarý ile semptom bölgesi arasýnda korelasyon olduðunu düþündürmektedir. Numune alma yeri kararý için semptomlarýn yeri de dikkate alýnabilinir. (SETB-2022-03-055)

Anahtar Kelimeler: Kulak Burun Boðaz Belirtileri, Laboratuvar Onaylý, Klinik Olarak Teþhis Edildi, COVID-19, Bilgisayarlý Göðüs Tomografisi, Koku kaybý, Anosmi

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