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Izquierdo-Domínguez A, Rojas-Lechuga MJ, Chiesa-Estomba C, Calvo-Henríquez C, Ninchritz-Becerra E, Soriano-Reixach M, Poletti-Serafini D, Villarreal IM, Maza-Solano JM, Moreno-Luna R, Villarroel PP, Mateos-Serrano B, Agudelo D, Valcarcel F, Del Cuvillo A, Santamaría A, Mariño-Sánchez F, Aguilar J, Vergés P, Inciarte A, Soriano A, Mullol J, Alobid I. Smell and Taste Dysfunction in COVID-19 Is Associated With Younger Age in Ambulatory Settings: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol 2020; 30:346-357. [PMID: 32554337 DOI: 10.18176/jiaci.0595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Since the initial anecdotal reports of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from China, a growing number of studies have reported on smell and/or taste dysfunction (STD). Objective: The aim of our study was to investigate the frequency and severity of STD in COVID-19 patients and to evaluate the association with demographic characteristics, hospital admission, symptoms, comorbidities, and blood biomarkers. METHODS We performed a multicenter cross-sectional study on patients who were positive for SARS-CoV-2 (n=846) and controls (n=143) from 15 Spanish hospitals. Data on STD were collected prospectively using an in-person survey. The severity of STD was categorized using a visual analog scale. We analyzed time to onset, recovery rate, time to recovery, hospital admission, pneumonia, comorbidities, smoking, and symptoms. RESULTS STD was at least 2-fold more common in COVID-19-positive patients than in controls. COVID-19-positive hospitalized patients were older, with a lower frequency of STD, and recovered earlier than outpatients. Analysis stratified by severity of STD showed that more than half of COVID-19 patients presented severe loss of smell (53.7%) or taste (52.2%); both senses were impaired in >90%. In the multivariate analysis, older age (>60 years), being hospitalized, and increased C-reactive protein were associated with a better sense of smell and/or taste. COVID-19-positive patients reported improvement in smell (45.6%) and taste (46.1%) at the time of the survey; in 90.6% this was within 2 weeks of infection. CONCLUSION STD is a common symptom in COVID-19 and presents mainly in young and nonhospitalized patients. More studies are needed to evaluate follow-up of chemosensory impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Izquierdo-Domínguez
- Department of Allergy, Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain.,Unidad Alergo Rino, Centro Médico Teknon, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Allergy, Clínica Diagonal, Barcelona, Spain
| | - M J Rojas-Lechuga
- Rhinology Unit & Smell Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Clinical and Experimental Respiratory Immunoallergy, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain.,CIBER of Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES), Spain
| | - C Chiesa-Estomba
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Donostia University Hospital, San Sebastian, Spain
| | - C Calvo-Henríquez
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Complex of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - E Ninchritz-Becerra
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Donostia University Hospital, San Sebastian, Spain
| | - M Soriano-Reixach
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Donostia University Hospital, San Sebastian, Spain
| | - D Poletti-Serafini
- Rhinology Section, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón and Hospital La Milagrosa, Spain
| | - I M Villarreal
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada and Hospital La Milagrosa, Spain
| | - J M Maza-Solano
- Rhinology and Skull Base Unit, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Virgen de la Macarena, Seville, Spain
| | - R Moreno-Luna
- Rhinology and Skull Base Unit, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Virgen de la Macarena, Seville, Spain
| | - P P Villarroel
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain
| | - B Mateos-Serrano
- Department of Otolaryngology, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Spain
| | - D Agudelo
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital de Sant Joan Despí Moisès Broggi, Barcelona, Spain
| | - F Valcarcel
- Rhinology Section, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Universitario de Cruces, Bilbao, Spain
| | - A Del Cuvillo
- Rhinology and asthma Unit, UGC ORL Hospital de Jerez, Servicio Andaluz de Salud, Cadiz, Spain
| | - A Santamaría
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain
| | - F Mariño-Sánchez
- Clinical and Experimental Respiratory Immunoallergy, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain.,CIBER of Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES), Spain.,Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain
| | - J Aguilar
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Reina Sofía de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
| | - P Vergés
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Vall d´Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
| | - A Inciarte
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Clínic Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - A Soriano
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Clínic Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - J Mullol
- Rhinology Unit & Smell Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Clinical and Experimental Respiratory Immunoallergy, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain.,CIBER of Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES), Spain
| | - I Alobid
- Unidad Alergo Rino, Centro Médico Teknon, Barcelona, Spain.,Rhinology Unit & Smell Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Clinical and Experimental Respiratory Immunoallergy, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain.,CIBER of Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES), Spain
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