Anosmia and Dysgeusia in the Absence of Other Respiratory Diseases: Should COVID-19 Infection Be Considered?

Noel Lorenzo Villalba; Yasmine Maouche; Maria Belen Alonso Ortiz; Zaida Cordoba Sosa; Jean Baptiste Chahbazian; Aneska Syrovatkova; Pierre Pertoldi; Emmanuel Andres; Abrar-Ahmad Zulfiqar

doi:10.12890/2020_001641

Anosmia and Dysgeusia in the Absence of Other Respiratory Diseases: Should COVID-19 Infection Be Considered?

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med. 2020 Apr 3;7(4):001641. doi: 10.12890/2020_001641. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Noel Lorenzo Villalba¹, Yasmine Maouche¹, Maria Belen Alonso Ortiz², Zaida Cordoba Sosa³, Jean Baptiste Chahbazian¹, Aneska Syrovatkova¹, Pierre Pertoldi¹, Emmanuel Andres¹, Abrar-Ahmad Zulfiqar¹

Affiliations

¹ Service de Médecine Interne, Diabète et Maladies Métaboliques, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, France.
² Internal Medicine Department, Dr Negrin University Hospital, Gran Canaria, Spain.
³ Internal Medicine Department, Fuerteventura General Hospital, Fuerteventura, Spain.

Abstract

We describe two elderly patients evaluated at emergency departments for anosmia/dysgeusia in the absence of any other respiratory symptoms prior to or upon admission. In the current epidemiological context, clinical and biological work-up led to a diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. Unfortunately, one of the patients died during hospitalization, but the other recovered and was discharged.

Learning points: In the current epidemiological situation, anosmia and dysgeusia in the absence of other respiratory conditions should be carefully evaluated.Special attention should be given to patients with non-classic COVID-19 symptoms in order to reduce transmission and protect health providers.

Keywords: 2019-nCoV; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; anosmia; dysgeusia.