Olfactory neuropathy in severe acute respiratory syndrome: report of A case

Abstract

This case was a 27 years old female with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). She suffered from typical symptoms of SARS. Although she got almost complete recovery from most symptoms after treatment, she noted acute onset complete anosmia 3 weeks after the onset of her first symptom. Her brain MRI examination did not show definite lesion except an incidental finding of left temporal epidermoid cyst. Her anosmia persisted for more than 2 years during following up. Peripheral neuropathy and myopathy have been reported as a concomitant problem during the convalescent stage of SARS, while the sequel of permanent ansomia in SARS was not reported before. Olfactory neuropathy, which rarely occurred in typical peripheral neuropathy, could be a special type of neuropathy induced by corona virus infection in SARS. Olfactory function test should be taken into routine check-up for patients with SARS. The pathophysiology and therapeutic strategy of this special type of permanent olfactory dysfunction deserve further investigation.