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Review
. 2021 Feb;278(2):307-312.
doi: 10.1007/s00405-020-06120-6. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a review of current evidence

Esmaeil Mehraeen  1 , Farzane Behnezhad  2 , Mohammad Amin Salehi  3 , Tayebeh Noori  4 , Hamid Harandi  3 , SeyedAhmad SeyedAlinaghi  5
Affiliations
Review

Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a review of current evidence

Esmaeil Mehraeen et al. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Introduction: It is reported that coronavirus disease (COVID-19) can affect the sense of smell and taste of infected people. The pathobiology of this virus is still incompletely known, and it is therefore important to explore the impact of COVID-19 infections on olfactory and gustatory functions. We aimed to review current evidence on olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions caused by COVID-19.

Methods: This study was a narrative review performed in 2020 to investigate the olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions of the COVID-19. We searched eight keywords in six databases to determine the related documents on the main objective of the study. To discover studies meeting the inclusion criteria, the authors screened the titles and abstracts of the identified articles. The appropriate studies were included and their results were discussed to make the final selection.

Results: We have studied 24 current articles on the olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions due to COVID-19. A review of current studies has shown that we have a surge in the spread of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions that happened during the epidemic of COVID-19 infection. Most studies (95.8%) have confirmed the symptoms of anosmia in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. A review of current studies showed that, in addition to anosmia, evidence of ageusia and dysgeusia (parageusia) was also seen in patients with COVID-19.

Conclusion: The results of our study support recent reports that SARS-CoV-2 may infect oral and nasal tissues and cause olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions. These findings may aid future research on the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of COVID-19 consequences.

Keywords: Anosmia/hyposmia; COVID-19; Coronavirus infections; Dysgeusia; Olfactory dysfunction; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

There is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA diagram of articles included
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Frequencies of COVID-19 olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

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