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Review
. 2021 Jan;25(1):e170-e174.
doi: 10.1055/s-0040-1719120. Epub 2020 Nov 26.

Anosmia/Hyposmia is a Good Predictor of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Infection: A Meta-Analysis

Timotius Ivan Hariyanto  1 , Niken Ageng Rizki  2 , Andree Kurniawan  3
Affiliations
Review

Anosmia/Hyposmia is a Good Predictor of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Infection: A Meta-Analysis

Timotius Ivan Hariyanto et al. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Introduction The number of positive cases and deaths from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still increasing. The early detection of the disease is very important. Olfactory dysfunction has been reported as the main symptom in part of the patients. Objective To analyze the potential usefulness of anosmia or hyposmia in the detection of the COVID-19 infection. Data Synthesis We systematically searched the PubMed Central database using specific keywords related to our aims until July 31st, 2020. All articles published on COVID-19 and anosmia or hyposmia were retrieved. A statistical analysis was performed using the Review Manager (RevMan, Cochrane, London, UK) software, version 5.4. A total of 10 studies involving 21,638 patients were included in the present analysis. The meta-analysis showed that anosmia or hyposmia is significantly associated with positive COVID-19 infections (risk ratio [RR]: 4.56; 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 3.32-6.24; p < 0.00001; I 2 = 78%, random-effects modeling). Conclusion The presence of anosmia or hyposmia is a good predictor of positive COVID-19 infections. Patients with onset of anosmia or hyposmia should take the test or undergo screening for the possibility of COVID-19 infection.

Keywords: COVID-19; anosmia; coronavirus disease 2019; hyposmia; olfactory dysfunction.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interests The authors have no conflict of interests to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA diagram of the detailed process of selection of studies for inclusion in the systematic review and meta-analysis.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Forest plot demonstrating the association of anosmia/hyposmia with COVID-19 positivity. Events means the presence of symptoms of anosmia/hyposmia.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Funnel-plot analysis of symptoms of anosmia/hyposmia predicting the positivity of the COVID-19 test.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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