Cirillo N, Bizzoca ME, Lo Muzio E, Cazzolla AP, Lo Muzio L. Gustatory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients: a rapid systematic review on 27,687 cases.
Acta Odontol Scand 2021;
79:418-425. [PMID:
33450165 DOI:
10.1080/00016357.2020.1869828]
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Abstract
Objective: This is a rapid systematic review concerning taste alterations in 27,687 individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, published in the worldwide literature.Material and methods: Of the 485 articles recovered, 67 eligible studies (27,687 confirmed COVID-19 cases) were included in this analysis. We analysed the prevalence of the taste alterations in patients considering the country of origin of the studies.Results: The results show strong important differences in the overall reported prevalence of taste alterations among the different countries (from 11% of Korea to 88.8% of Belgium).Conclusions: These data highlight that there is a different geographical distribution of taste alterations in COVID-19 patients. Gustatory dysfunction seems to be an understudied symptom of COVID-19 and this may explain the inconsistencies of diagnostic criteria for COVID-19 case definition. Furthermore, this diagnostic underestimation can lead to an increased risk of contagion for the whole population and for the working classes most at risk, including the dental one.
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