Abstract
ABSTRACTObjective To assess the clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with olfactory dysfunction in the scenario of COVID-19 pandemic.Methods The study selected patients with loss of smell, previously screened by telemonitoring system of the Municipal Health Department of Goiânia (GO), Brazil, who agreed to answer a questionnaire about COVID-19 symptoms and findings of exams. The interviews were conducted by six otolaryngologists, who applied the specific questionnaire, over the phone.Results A total of 13,910 patients underwent telemonitoring, and 627 (4.51%) had olfactory loss complaints. Out of them, 330 were included in the survey. We observed a higher prevalence of altered smell in women (67%), and in patients aged under 50 years (86%). In most cases the manifestations had a sudden onset (70%), and in the first 5 days of illness (80%). The most prevalent associated symptom was a change in taste (89%), and only 2.7% of interviewed patients required hospitalization.Conclusion Anosmia in COVID-19 is more prevalent in females and individuals aged under 50 years. It is a relevant initial symptom predictive of the disease, together with dysgeusia.
Highlights
In December 2019, a new coronavirus started circulating in China, in the city of Wuhan, province of Hubei, causing a disease that is currently known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which accounts for the current pandemic
According to the current scientific literature, the prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2-related anosmia is very variable (5% to 85.6%). This probably happens due to the different methodologies used, and the enrollment of suspected patients.[1,6] This study found a rate of 4.51% among patients telemonitored by the Municipal Health Department and Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG), which is a low number, probably due to the presence of many suspected patients without laboratory confirmation, leading to a selection bias
Recent studies performed on population-based samples in periods preceding the current COVID-19 pandemic identified as risk factors for olfactory disorders, male sex and advanced age, with statistically significant differences between sexes and an age range between 18 and 50 years.[7,8] On the other hand, descriptive studies performed in COVID-19 populations have shown that olfactory changes are predominant in the female sex; the mean age of the patients assessed was similar.[2,9,10,11,12] In this study, similarities were found with previous studies, with 67.2% of females and a mean age of 37 years
Summary
In December 2019, a new coronavirus started circulating in China, in the city of Wuhan, province of Hubei, causing a disease that is currently known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which accounts for the current pandemic. The virus, due to its genomic similarities with the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus (SARS-CoV), which caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, in China, in 2002, was named SARS-CoV-2 It is a single-stranded, enveloped RNA virus of the Coronaviridae family, which shares similarities with the SARS-CoV-type viruses of the same family, which are bat-borne. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has a provenly higher sensitivity rate (approximately 80%), when performed three or more days after onset of symptoms. It is performed on respiratory samples (such as nasopharyngeal) and considered the gold standard for diagnosis.[3]
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