Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the evolution of chemosensation via extended psychophysical testing in patients who suffered from sudden chemosensory loss due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Additionally, this study sought to determine whether odor threshold testing provided additional information on olfactory loss due to COVID-19 compared to the more common odor identification testing.
Methods: Prospective cohort study of patients with sudden chemosensory loss since February 2020 and confirmed COVID-19 infection via RT-PCR or serology testing. Olfactory function was tested extensively using the “Sniffin Sticks” test battery. In addition, we screened gustatory perception and nasal cooling sensations using psychophysical tests.
Results: Seventy-two patients completed the study. After a mean of 37 days, 37% of patients showed olfactory dysfunction, 7% were dysgeusic, and 48% showed signs of low sensitivity for cooling sensation. A longer duration of anosmia before smell improvement was correlated with lower olfactory function at 5 weeks. Odor threshold detection was more affected by COVID-19 compared to odor identification.
Conclusion: Five weeks after developing sudden chemosensory loss due to COVID-19, a high proportion of patients were dysosmic and showed signs of low nasal cooling sensitivity, whereas most of them had normal taste function. SARS-CoV-2 affected mainly odor thresholds, possibly suggesting that the major cause of loss of smell lies at the level of the olfactory neuroepithelium, rather than in the central nervous system.
Keywords: COVID-19; Chemosensory loss; Psychophysical test; SARS-CoV-2.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Chemosensory loss, Psychophysical test, 【초록키워드】 coronavirus disease, Evolution, SARS-CoV-2, Coronavirus disease 2019, nasal, prospective cohort study, olfactory dysfunction, RT-PCR, cohort study, Anosmia, sensitivity, COVID-19 infection, serology testing, Prospective, Patient, Central nervous system, threshold, information, odor, olfactory, olfactory function, Gustatory, Loss of Smell, odor threshold, Confirmed COVID-19 infection, thresholds, sensation, chemosensory, olfactory neuroepithelium, affected, evaluate, proportion, addition, provided, screened, determine, correlated, suffered, was tested, 【제목키워드】 Patient, function, olfactory, chemosensory,