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Six month follow-up of self-reported loss of smell during the covid-19 pandemic

par Hopkins, Claire;Surda, Pavol;Vaira, Luigi;Lechien, Jérôme;Safarian, Maryam;Saussez, Sven ;Kumar, Nirmal
Référence Rhinology, 59, 1, page (26-31)
Publication Publié, 2021

Article révisé par les pairs

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Résumé :

Introduction: Loss of smell and taste is now recognised as amongst the most common symptoms of COVID-19 and the best predictor of COVID-19 positivity. Long term outcomes are unknown. This study aims to investigate recovery of loss of smell and the prevalence of parosmia. Methodology: 6-month follow-up of respondents to an online surgery who self-reported loss of smell at the onset of the CO-VID-19 pandemic in the UK. Information of additional symptoms, recovery of loss of smell and the development of parosmia was collected. Results: 44% of respondents reported at least one other ongoing symptom at 6 months, of which fatigue (n=106) was the most prevalent. There was a significant improvement in self-rating of severity of olfactory loss where 177 patients stated they had a normal smell of smell while 12 patients reported complete loss of smell. The prevalence of parosmia is 43.1% with median interval of 2.5 months (range 0-6) from the onset of loss of smell. Conclusions: While many patients recover quickly, some experience long-term deficits with no self-reported improvement at 6 months. Furthermore, there is a high prevalence of parosmia even in those who report at least some recovery of olfactory func-tion. Longer term evaluation of recovery is required.