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Sudden loss of smell and taste: clinical predictors of coronavirus disease 2019 infection

Part of: JLO Coronavirus Collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2022

A Jain Open the ORCID record for A Jain [Opens in a new window] ,
J Kaur ,
N Kahlon ,
M Singh ,
A K Rai ,
M Hans ,
V M Hans ,
S Dhankar ,
S Kumar  and
A K Pandey
A Jain*
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, Faridabad, India
J Kaur
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, Faridabad, India
N Kahlon
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, Faridabad, India
M Singh
Affiliation:
Department of Community Medicine, Faridabad, India
A K Rai
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, Faridabad, India
M Hans
Affiliation:
Dentistry, Employees' State Insurance Corporation (‘ESIC’) Medical College and Hospital, Faridabad, India
V M Hans
Affiliation:
Dentistry, Employees' State Insurance Corporation (‘ESIC’) Medical College and Hospital, Faridabad, India
S Dhankar
Affiliation:
Employees' State Insurance Corporation Medical College and Hospital, Faridabad, India
S Kumar
Affiliation:
Employees' State Insurance Corporation Medical College and Hospital, Faridabad, India
A K Pandey
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, Faridabad, India
*
Author for correspondence: Dr Avani Jain, Department of ENT, ESIC Medical College and Hospital, Faridabad, India E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Objectives

This study aimed: to evaluate the association between coronavirus disease 2019 infection and olfactory and taste dysfunction in patients presenting to the out-patient department with influenza-like illness, who underwent reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing for coronavirus; and to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of olfactory and taste dysfunction and other symptoms in these patients.

Methods

Patients presenting with influenza-like illness to the study centre in September 2020 were included in the study. The symptoms of patients who tested positive for coronavirus on reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing were compared to those with negative test results.

Results

During the study period, 909 patients, aged 12–70 years, presented with influenza-like illness; of these, 316 (34.8 per cent) tested positive for coronavirus. Only the symptoms of olfactory and taste dysfunction were statistically more significant in patients testing positive for coronavirus than those testing negative.

Conclusion

During the pandemic, patients presenting to the out-patient department with sudden loss of sense of smell or taste may be considered as positive for coronavirus disease 2019, until proven otherwise.

Keywords

COVID-19Gustatory PerceptionOlfactory ImpairmentSensitivitySpecificity
Type
Main Article
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 136 , Issue 8 , August 2022 , pp. 747 - 749
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of J.L.O. (1984) LIMITED

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Footnotes

Dr A Jain takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper

References

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