Department of Biomedical Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2021 Jan;25(2):1114-1134. doi: 10.26355/eurrev_202101_24683.
The novel coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic had intense social and economic effects. Patients infected with COVID-19 may present with a series of conditions. A considerable number of patients express taste and smell disturbances as a prodromal, coexistent, or as the only manifestation of COVID-19 infection. The objective of the present review is to review the hypothetical mechanisms of action and etiopathogenesis of dysgeusia in COVID-19 patients.
Multiple scientific databases were explored, including PubMed, Medline, Scopus, Cochrane-library, LILACS, Livivo and OpenGrey. All types of articles that discussed the pathogenesis of dysgeusia were included, while articles that described dysgeusia without detail about its mode of action were excluded.
A total of 47 articles, with different designs, were included in this review. These articles suggested direct viral neural invasion to olfactory and gustatory nerves, viral cytotoxicity to taste buds, angiotensin II imbalance, augmented pro-inflammatory cytokines, and disturbances in salivary glands and sialic acid. COVID-19 induced-dysgeusia was also associated with systemic diseases, medications, zinc, chemicals, and disinfectants.
The most likely cause of transient dysgeusia in COVID-19 is peripheral neurotropism and direct toxicity to taste buds or olfactory epithelium. Other factors may also play a contributory role in dysgeusia, such as a defect in the quality and quantity of saliva, pro-inflammatory cytokines, angiotensin II accumulation, systemic diseases, hypozincemia, and excessive use of chemicals.
新型冠状病毒病-19（COVID-19）大流行对社会和经济产生了强烈影响。感染 COVID-19 的患者可能会出现一系列症状。相当数量的患者表示味觉和嗅觉障碍是 COVID-19 感染的前驱、共存或唯一表现。本综述的目的是回顾 COVID-19 患者味觉障碍的假设作用机制和发病机制。
探索了多个科学数据库，包括 PubMed、Medline、Scopus、Cochrane-library、LILACS、Livivo 和 OpenGrey。纳入了所有讨论味觉障碍发病机制的文章，而排除了仅描述味觉障碍而未详细描述其作用模式的文章。
本综述共纳入 47 篇不同设计的文章。这些文章表明，病毒直接侵犯嗅觉和味觉神经、病毒对味蕾的细胞毒性、血管紧张素 II 失衡、促炎细胞因子增加以及唾液腺和唾液酸紊乱都可能导致 COVID-19 患者出现味觉障碍。COVID-19 诱导的味觉障碍也与全身疾病、药物、锌、化学物质和消毒剂有关。
COVID-19 患者短暂味觉障碍的最可能原因是外周神经嗜性和对味蕾或嗅觉上皮的直接毒性。其他因素也可能在味觉障碍中起作用，如唾液的质量和数量缺陷、促炎细胞因子、血管紧张素 II 积累、全身疾病、低锌血症和化学物质的过度使用。
