Background The unexpected outbreak of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused more than 49 million cases and an estimated 2,000,000 associated deaths worldwide. In Germany, there are currently more than 2,000,000 laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases including 51,800 deaths. However, regional differences also became apparent and with the second wave of infections, the detailed characterization of COVID-19 patients is crucial to early diagnosis and disruption of chains of infections. Methods Handing out detailed questionnaires to all individuals tested for COVID-19, we evaluated the clinical characteristics of negative and positive tested individuals. Expression of symptoms, symptom duration and association between predictor variables (i.e. age, gender) and a binary outcome (olfactory and gustatory dysfunction) were assessed. Results Overall, the most common symptoms among individuals who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were fatigue, headache, and cough. Olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were also reported by many SARS-CoV-2 negative individuals, more than 20% of SARS-CoV-2 negative tested individuals in our study reported olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. Independent of SARS-CoV-2 status, more females displayed symptoms of gustatory (29.8%, p = 0.0041) and olfactory dysfunction (22.9%, p = 0.0174) compared to men. Conclusions Bringing early SARS-CoV-2 tests to the populations at risk must be a main focus for the upcoming months. The reliability of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in COVID-19 negative tested individuals requires deeper investigation in the future. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12879-021-06294-2.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Anosmia, COVID, Smell, Taste, Hyposmia, Olfaction, olfactory, Gustatory, COVID-19 negative Dysgeusia, Loss, 【초록키워드】 coronavirus disease, coronavirus, reliability, fatigue, Clinical characteristics, Gender, risk, Symptom, outcome, olfactory dysfunction, cough, headache, Symptoms, Population, early diagnosis, infections, symptom duration, Germany, outbreak, female, death, second wave, age, questionnaire, association, deaths, COVID-19 patient, independent of, dysfunction, acute respiratory syndrome, supplementary material, individual, positive, SARS-CoV-2 test, laboratory-confirmed, men, Result, tested, caused, reported, evaluated, individuals, COVID-19 negative, negative and positive, predictor variable, were assessed, 【제목키워드】 COVID-19 pandemic, olfactory dysfunction, Presence,