Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan 22;22(1):77.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-022-07052-8.

Self-reported olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in COVID-19 patients: a 1-year follow-up study in Foggia district, Italy

Francesca Fortunato  1 , Domenico Martinelli  1 , Giuseppina Iannelli  1 , Marica Milazzo  1 , Umberto Farina  1 , Gabriella Di Matteo  1 , Rosella De Nittis  2 , Leonardo Ascatigno  1 , Michele Cassano  3 , Pier Luigi Lopalco  4 , Rosa Prato  5
Affiliations

Self-reported olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in COVID-19 patients: a 1-year follow-up study in Foggia district, Italy

Francesca Fortunato et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: From the initial stages of the pandemic in early 2020, COVID-19-related olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions have been widely reported and are emerging as one of the most frequent long-term sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, data regarding the long-term recovery of the sense of smell and taste are lacking. This study aimed to characterize the evolution up to one year after the diagnosis of self-reported olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in COVID-19 cases.

Methods: Based on the data of the active surveillance platform of the Apulia region, Italy, we selected the residents of Foggia district who were confirmed positive for SARS-CoV-2 from March 1st to June 16th, 2020, and home-quarantined with paucisymptomatic-to-mild clinical presentation. Self-reported olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions were recorded at baseline through a survey of dichotomous questions. The evolution of these symptoms at approximately one year was prospectively assessed via telephone by the validated sino-nasal outcome test 22 (SNOT-22, Italian version).

Results: Among the 1,175 COVID-19 cases notified in the Foggia district during the first epidemic wave, 488 had paucisymptomatic-to-mild clinical presentation. Of these, 41.2% (n = 201, 95% confidence interval [CI] 36.8-45.7%) reported at least one sensory dysfunction. A total of 178 to 201 (88.5%) patients agreed to participate in the follow-up survey. According to the SNOT-22 results, the persistence of a sensory dysfunction was observed in the 29.8% (n = 53, 95% CI 23.2-37.1%) of them. Particularly, loss of smell persisted in 25.8% (n = 46, 95% CI 19.6-32.9%), loss of taste in 21.3% (n = 38, 95% CI 15.6-28.1%), loss of both in 17.4% (n = 31, 95% CI 12.2-23.8%) of participants in the follow-up. The rates of full recovery increased over time: from 59% at 30 days to 71.9% at 90 days for the sense of smell; from 61.3% at 30 days to 74.7% at 90 days for the sense of taste.

Conclusions: The persistence of COVID-19-related olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions up to 12 months after the disease onset in a noteworthy proportion (approximately 3 out of 10) of patients with paucisymptomatic-to-mild clinical presentation deserves further investigations due to its possible pathophysiological implications and impact on the quality of life.

Keywords: Ageusia; Anosmia; COVID-19; Long COVID, Italy; Prevalence; Recovery; Sensory dysfunctions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of the study of self-reported olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in COVID-19 cases. District of Foggia (Apulia region, Italy), March 1st, 2020—June 16th, 2021
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Kaplan–Meier estimates showing the rate of complete recovery of self-reported olfactory A and gustatory B dysfunctions in COVID-19 cases. District of Foggia (Apulia region, Italy), March 1st, 2020—June 16th, 2021
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Anosmia, hyposmia, and dysgeusia symptoms of Coronavirus Disease. 2020. https://www.entnet.org/content/aao-hns-anosmia-hyposmia-and-dysgeusia-sy.... Accessed 10 Jun 2021.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-symptoms. 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html. Accessed 10 Jun 2021.
    1. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Case definition for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as of 3 December 2020. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/surveillance/case-definition. Accessed 10 Jun 2021.
    1. Villerabel C, Makinson A, Jaussent A, Picot MC, Nègre-Pagè L, Rouvière JA, et al. Diagnostic value of patient-reported and clinically tested olfactory dysfunction in a population screened for COVID-19. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2021;147:271–279. doi: 10.1001/jamaoto.2020.5074. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Paderno A, Mattavelli D, Rampinelli V, Grammatica A, Raffetti E, Tomasoni M, et al. Olfactory and gustatory outcomes in COVID-19: a prospective evaluation in nonhospitalized subjects. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2020;63:1144–1149. doi: 10.1177/0194599820939538. - DOI - PMC - PubMed