Ali Safavi Naeini, M. Karimi-Galougahi, N. Raad, J. Ghorbani, Ayeh Taraghi, S. Haseli, Golfam Mehrparvar, M. Bakhshayeshkaram
American Journal of Otolaryngology, 2020
Objective Olfactory dysfunction in coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is poorly understood. Thus, mechanistic data are needed to elucidate the pathophysiological drivers of anosmia of COVID-19. Methods We performed the current study in patients who presented with anosmia and COVID-19 as documented by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay between April 1st and May 15st, 2020. We assessed for the conductive causes of anosmia with computed tomography (CT) of paranasal sinuses. Results 49 patients who presented with anosmia and positive PCR assay for COVID-19 were included. The average age was 45 ± 12.2 years. Complete anosmia was present in 85.7% of patients and 91.8% of patients reported sudden onset of olfactory dysfunction. Taste disturbance was common (75.5%). There were no significant pathological changes in the paranasal sinuses on CT scans. Olfactory cleft and ethmoid sinuses appeared normal while in other sinuses, partial opacification was detected only in some cases. Conclusion We did not find significant mucosal changes or olfactory cleft abnormality on CT imaging in patients with anosmia of COVID-19. Conductive causes of anosmia (i.e., mucosal disease) do not seem play a significant role in anosmia of COVID-19.
Cited by 21 publications.
Field of study: Medicine