Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Department of Internal Diseases, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Ir J Med Sci. 2021 Aug;190(3):889-891. doi: 10.1007/s11845-020-02405-1. Epub 2020 Oct 19.
COVID-19 is a new disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The olfactory dysfunction linked to COVID-19 is not associated with rhinorrhea but there is no objective evaluation.
To evaluate nasal mucosal secretion objectively in COVID-19 patients with anosmia.
Fifty-two COVID-19 patients with anosmia and 51 healthy individuals included. Anosmia was diagnosed by subjective questionnaires. Nasal Schirmer test was done to the left and the right nasal cavity separately.
All patients had anosmia and 82.6% had gustatory dysfunction. In group 1, the mean of the nasal Schirmer test results in the right cavity was 12.4 mm, 12.01 mm in the left nasal cavity. The median wetting distance (right plus left divided by two) was calculated 12.21 mm. In group 2, the mean of the nasal Schirmer test results in the right cavity was 12.1 mm, 11.8 mm in the left nasal cavity. The median wetting distance (right plus left divided by two) was calculated11.97 mm. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of nasal schirmer.
Olfactory dysfunction and gustatory dysfunction are the two of the unknown for this disease. We evaluated the nasal mucosa secretions in COVID-19 patients with anosmia objectively to evaluate if there is inflammation in the nasal mucosa. We found no difference between healthy individuals. According to our study, SARS-CoV-2 causes anosmia without causing nasal mucosal inflammation. Invasion of the olfactory bulb and central nervous system by SARS-CoV-2 may lead to anosmia in COVID-19, which may cause olfactory dysfunction.
COVID-19 是由 SARS-CoV-2 病毒引起的一种新疾病。与 COVID-19 相关的嗅觉功能障碍与鼻漏无关，但尚无客观评估。
评估 COVID-19 患者嗅觉丧失的鼻黏膜分泌情况。
纳入 52 例 COVID-19 嗅觉丧失患者和 51 例健康对照者。采用主观问卷诊断嗅觉丧失。分别对左右鼻腔进行鼻黏膜 Schirmer 试验。
所有患者均有嗅觉丧失，82.6%有味觉障碍。在第 1 组中，右侧鼻腔鼻黏膜 Schirmer 试验结果的平均值为 12.4mm，左侧为 12.01mm。计算出的湿化距离中位数（右侧加左侧除以 2）为 12.21mm。在第 2 组中，右侧鼻腔鼻黏膜 Schirmer 试验结果的平均值为 12.1mm，左侧为 11.8mm。计算出的湿化距离中位数（右侧加左侧除以 2）为 11.97mm。两组之间的鼻黏膜 Schirmer 试验结果无差异。
嗅觉功能障碍和味觉功能障碍是该疾病的两个未知问题。我们客观评估了 COVID-19 嗅觉丧失患者的鼻黏膜分泌物，以评估鼻黏膜是否存在炎症。我们发现健康对照组之间无差异。根据我们的研究，SARS-CoV-2 引起嗅觉丧失而不引起鼻黏膜炎症。SARS-CoV-2 对嗅球和中枢神经系统的侵犯可能导致 COVID-19 患者出现嗅觉丧失，从而导致嗅觉功能障碍。
