Otolaryngology-Specific Symptoms May Be Highly Observed in Patients With a History of Covid-19 Infection After Inactivated Coronavirus Vaccination

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the otolaryngology-specific symptoms that occur after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine and its possible side effects in patients who had Covid-19 infection in the last 6 months before the vaccination.

Patients and methods: The study comprised 3383 health care workers who were vaccinated against Covid 19. After excluding, the study was conducted with 1710 (51%) participants who agreed to answer the study questions. The participants were divided into 2 groups according to the history of Covid-19 positivity in the last 6 months before vaccination. The presence of symptoms related to otolaryngology practice, including cough, nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, sore throat, hearing loss, dizziness, loss of smell, loss of taste, ear pressure, and facial paralysis was recorded.

Results: The mean age of the study population was 35.79 ± 10.2 (19-71) years and 1454 (85%) of the patients had a history of Covid-19 infection in the last 6 months. Regarding otolaryngology-related symptoms, the most common complaints were rhinorrhea (4.4%), sore throat (3.2%), and nasal congestion (2.9%). The presence of smell and taste loss, nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, sore throat, and hearing loss was significantly more common in patients with a history of Covid-19 infection.

Conclusions: The patients with a history of Covid-19 disease might have otolaryngology-specific symptoms more commonly than those without a history of Covid-19 disease in the last 6 months before vaccination.

Keywords: anosmia; coronavirus; smell disorders; vaccination.