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. 2020 Sep;277(9):2637-2640.
doi: 10.1007/s00405-020-06066-9. Epub 2020 May 24.

New onset of loss of smell or taste in household contacts of home-isolated SARS-CoV-2-positive subjects

Paolo Boscolo-Rizzo  1 , Daniele Borsetto  2 , Giacomo Spinato  1 , Cristoforo Fabbris  1 , Anna Menegaldo  1 , Piergiorgio Gaudioso  1 , Piero Nicolai  3 , Giancarlo Tirelli  4 , Maria Cristina Da Mosto  1 , Roberto Rigoli  5 , Jerry Polesel  6 , Claire Hopkins  7
Affiliations

New onset of loss of smell or taste in household contacts of home-isolated SARS-CoV-2-positive subjects

Paolo Boscolo-Rizzo et al. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of smell or taste impairment in household contacts of mildly symptomatic home-isolated SARS-CoV-2-positive patients.

Methods: Cross-sectional study based on ad hoc questions.

Results: Of 214 mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients managed at home under self-isolation, 179 reported to have at least one household contact, with the total number of no study participants contacts being 296. Among 175 household contacts not tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection, 67 (38.3%) had SARS-CoV-2 compatible symptoms, 39 (22.3%) had loss of smell or taste with 7 (4.0%) having loss of smell or taste in the absence of other symptoms. The prevalence of smell or taste impairment was 1.5% in patients tested negative compared to 63.0% of those tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Smell or taste impairment are quite common in not-tested household contacts of mildly symptomatic home-isolated SARS-CoV-2-positive patients. This should be taken into account when estimating the burden of loss of sense of smell and taste during COVID-19 pandemic, and further highlights the value of loss of sense of smell and taste as a marker of infection.

Keywords: Anosmia; COVID-19; Coronavirus; Household contacts; Smell and taste loss.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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