Incidence of Olfactory Dysfunction in Patients with COVID-19 in a Tertiary Hospital in Saudi Arabia

Rayan Alfallaj; Ghada AlSkait; Nouf Alamari; Lama Alfawzan; Mohammed Abualgasem; Naif H Alotaibi; Ibrahim Sumaily; Ibrahim Alarifi; Saad Alsaleh

doi:10.1177/21526575221140809

Incidence of Olfactory Dysfunction in Patients with COVID-19 in a Tertiary Hospital in Saudi Arabia

Allergy Rhinol (Providence). 2022 Nov 25:13:21526575221140809. doi: 10.1177/21526575221140809. eCollection 2022 Jan-Dec.

Authors

Rayan Alfallaj¹, Ghada AlSkait², Nouf Alamari², Lama Alfawzan², Mohammed Abualgasem³, Naif H Alotaibi⁴, Ibrahim Sumaily⁵, Ibrahim Alarifi⁶, Saad Alsaleh¹

Affiliations

¹ Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
² College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ College of Medicine, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ ENT Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ ENT Department, King Fahd Central Hospital, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ ENT Department, Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, a novel virus that emerged in China in December 2019. In many cases of COVID-19, olfactory dysfunction (OD) is the only symptom.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the incidence of OD in patients with COVID-19 and identify an association between OD and COVID-19-related morbidity and admission.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study.

Methods: Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction-confirmed cases of COVID-19 from the Security Forces Hospital electronic registry from June 2020 to September 2020 were included in our study. Data on medical background, severity of the disease, and other related factors were collected through phone calls and electronic healthcare systems and analyzed to investigate OD in the participants.

Results: Of the participants, 68% had OD, with a mean recovery time of 18 days and a mean follow-up time of 129 days (76-211 days). OD was negatively correlated with admission and morbidity.

Conclusion: OD is a common presentation of COVID-19 and is more prevalent in mild cases of infection.

Keywords: COVID-19; anosmia; coronavirus; gustatory dysfunction; olfactory dysfunction; smell disturbance; taste.