New findings add to evidence that reduced ability to taste and/or smell may be a frequent and early sign of COVID-19.
A telephone survey of 204 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 found that more than half of patients experienced taste reduction before their diagnosis (55%), while smell reduction was present among 42% of patients. Forty percent reported both. Severe nasal obstruction was uncommon, at least at the onset of the disease (7.8%).
Severe taste and smell loss was more prevalent in women than men, and middle-aged versus younger patients. Notably, no significant link was found between smoking habits and severe reduction of either sense.
Patients with COVID-19 have an array of clinical manifestations, and diagnosis can be challenging at the outset when there is no fever or abnormality on a chest scan, wrote Giuseppe Mercante, M.D., from Humanitas University, Italy. Clinical suspicion therefore remains crucial, and recognition of sinonasal symptoms could help ensure a more accurate and timely diagnosis, he and his colleagues wrote.
“The general practitioner may play a pivotal role in identifying potential COVID-19 in patients at an early stage if taste and/or smell alterations manifest and in suggesting quarantine before confirmation or exclusion of the diagnosis,” investigators reported.
The study was retrospective. Smell and taste changes before COVID-19 diagnosis were confirmed with a validated questionnaire.
Full findings are available in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.
