TY - JOUR
T1 - Olfactory and Gustatory Dysfunction as an Early Identifier of COVID-19 in Adults and Children
T2 - An International Multicenter Study
AU - Qiu, Chenghao
AU - Cui, Chong
AU - Hautefort, Charlotte
AU - Haehner, Antje
AU - Zhao, Jun
AU - Yao, Qi
AU - Zeng, Hui
AU - Nisenbaum, Eric J.
AU - Liu, Li
AU - Zhao, Yu
AU - Zhang, Di
AU - Levine, Corinna G.
AU - Cejas, Ivette
AU - Dai, Qi
AU - Zeng, Mei
AU - Herman, Philippe
AU - Jourdaine, Clement
AU - de With, Katja
AU - Draf, Julia
AU - Chen, Bing
AU - Jayaweera, Dushyantha T.
AU - Denneny, James C.
AU - Casiano, Roy
AU - Yu, Hongmeng
AU - Eshraghi, Adrien A.
AU - Hummel, Thomas
AU - Liu, Xuezhong
AU - Shu, Yilai
AU - Lu, Hongzhou
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding source: National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81822011, 81771013). University of Miami COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant (UM 2020-2227).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.
PY - 2020/10/1
Y1 - 2020/10/1
N2 - Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of olfactory or gustatory dysfunction in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Study Design: Multicenter case series. Setting: Five tertiary care hospitals (3 in China, 1 in France, 1 in Germany). Subjects and Methods: In total, 394 polymerase chain reaction (PCR)–confirmed COVID-19-positive patients were screened, and those with olfactory or gustatory dysfunction were included. Data including demographics, COVID-19 severity, patient outcome, and the incidence and degree of olfactory and/or gustatory dysfunction were collected and analyzed. The Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders (QOD) and visual analog scale (VAS) were used to quantify olfactory and gustatory dysfunction, respectively. All subjects at 1 hospital (Shanghai) without subjective olfactory complaints underwent objective testing. Results: Of 394 screened subjects, 161 (41%) reported olfactory and/or gustatory dysfunction and were included. Incidence of olfactory and/or gustatory disorders in Chinese (n = 239), German (n = 39), and French (n = 116) cohorts was 32%, 69%, and 49%, respectively. The median age of included subjects was 39 years, 92 of 161 (57%) were male, and 10 of 161 (6%) were children. Of included subjects, 10% had only olfactory or gustatory symptoms, and 19% had olfactory and/or gustatory complaints prior to any other COVID-19 symptom. Of subjects with objective olfactory testing, 10 of 90 demonstrated abnormal chemosensory function despite reporting normal subjective olfaction. Forty-three percent (44/102) of subjects with follow-up showed symptomatic improvement in olfaction or gustation. Conclusions: Olfactory and/or gustatory disorders may represent early or isolated symptoms of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. They may serve as a useful additional screening criterion, particularly for the identification of patients in the early stages of infection.
AB - Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of olfactory or gustatory dysfunction in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Study Design: Multicenter case series. Setting: Five tertiary care hospitals (3 in China, 1 in France, 1 in Germany). Subjects and Methods: In total, 394 polymerase chain reaction (PCR)–confirmed COVID-19-positive patients were screened, and those with olfactory or gustatory dysfunction were included. Data including demographics, COVID-19 severity, patient outcome, and the incidence and degree of olfactory and/or gustatory dysfunction were collected and analyzed. The Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders (QOD) and visual analog scale (VAS) were used to quantify olfactory and gustatory dysfunction, respectively. All subjects at 1 hospital (Shanghai) without subjective olfactory complaints underwent objective testing. Results: Of 394 screened subjects, 161 (41%) reported olfactory and/or gustatory dysfunction and were included. Incidence of olfactory and/or gustatory disorders in Chinese (n = 239), German (n = 39), and French (n = 116) cohorts was 32%, 69%, and 49%, respectively. The median age of included subjects was 39 years, 92 of 161 (57%) were male, and 10 of 161 (6%) were children. Of included subjects, 10% had only olfactory or gustatory symptoms, and 19% had olfactory and/or gustatory complaints prior to any other COVID-19 symptom. Of subjects with objective olfactory testing, 10 of 90 demonstrated abnormal chemosensory function despite reporting normal subjective olfaction. Forty-three percent (44/102) of subjects with follow-up showed symptomatic improvement in olfaction or gustation. Conclusions: Olfactory and/or gustatory disorders may represent early or isolated symptoms of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. They may serve as a useful additional screening criterion, particularly for the identification of patients in the early stages of infection.
KW - COVID-19
KW - COVID-19 screening
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - anosmia
KW - dysgeusia
KW - gustatory dysfunction
KW - olfactory dysfunction
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U2 - 10.1177/0194599820934376
DO - 10.1177/0194599820934376
M3 - Article
C2 - 32539586
AN - SCOPUS:85089685196
VL - 163
SP - 714
EP - 721
JO - Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (United States)
JF - Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (United States)
SN - 0194-5998
IS - 4
ER -