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. 2021 Apr;278(4):1233-1236.
doi: 10.1007/s00405-020-06319-7. Epub 2020 Sep 1.

Otolaryngological symptoms in COVID-19

Elif Elibol  1
Affiliations

Otolaryngological symptoms in COVID-19

Elif Elibol. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of various otolaryngological symptoms in patients with COVID-19 with regard to age, gender and pneumonia-related thorax CT characteristics.

Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted between March 25, 2020 and April 25, 2020. The anamnesis and medical files of 155 patients who applied to our outpatient COVID-19 clinic were evaluated. Patients with positive PCR tests for COVID-19 who were aged between 18-72 years were divided into groups according to the presence of otolaryngological symptoms. The differences between the two groups were examined.

Results: Of the 155 patients, 89 (57.4%) had otolaryngological symptoms. The mean age of the patients was 36.3 ± 8.1 years. Ninety-one (58.7%) patients were female, and 64 (42.2%) were male. Fifty-eight (37.4%) patients had received a clinical diagnosis of viral pneumonia with ground glass findings in tomography. The frequency of otolaryngological symptoms was higher in females than males (p: 0.029). The otolaryngological symptoms were also observed to be more frequent in the 18-30 age group (p: 0.013) compared to other age groups.

Conclusions: Tinnitus, gingivitis, sudden hearing loss, Bell's palsy, and hoarseness can be seen in COVID-19, albeit rarely. Revealing the otolaryngological symptoms of COVID-19, and obtaining more information about the extent of disease will be useful in managing patients and their complaints associated with otolaryngology.

Keywords: Anosmia; Coronavirus; Gingivitis; Otolaryngology; Sore throat; Tinnitus.

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Conflict of interest statement

Not applicable.

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