Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Getafe, Crta Toledo Km 12,500, Madrid, Spain.
Department of Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences and Health, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2021 Dec;278(12):4831-4837. doi: 10.1007/s00405-021-06764-y. Epub 2021 Mar 28.
The study aimed to determine the incidence and long-term evolution of COVID-related olfactory (OD) and gustatory (GD) dysfunction, the recovery timeline, and the association with other symptoms. The secondary objective was to identify the predictive clinical factors for the evolution of these symptoms.
A prospective case-control study was conducted from March 15 to October 15, 2020, in health workers with COVID-19 related symptoms in a tertiary care hospital. 320 patients were included after 6 months of follow-up: 195 in the case group and 125 in the control group. Olfactory dysfunction (OD), dysosmia, and gustatory dysfunction (GD) onset and recovery rate after 6 months follow-up are analyzed in both groups.
There were 125 (64.1%) in case group patients with OD and 118 (60.5%) with GD. Total or partial recovery OD and GD was found in 89%, mainly in the first 2 months. In the control group, there were 14 (11.2%) patients with OD and 33 (26.4%) patients with GD, with 100% of total/partial recovery.
In both groups, OD and GD showed high-resolution rates during the first two months after the onset of symptoms. Nevertheless, 11% of the case group patients did not show any recovery, and the partial resolution was present in 30% of our patients, at the 6 months follow-up. We found a high correlation between OD and GD, both in the appearance of symptoms and in their recovery. Nasal obstruction and dyspnea have been identified as risk factors for the persistence of symptoms.
本研究旨在确定 COVID 相关嗅觉（OD）和味觉（GD）障碍的发生率和长期演变、恢复时间，以及与其他症状的关系。次要目的是确定这些症状演变的预测临床因素。
这是一项前瞻性病例对照研究，于 2020 年 3 月 15 日至 10 月 15 日在一家三级保健医院中对 COVID-19 相关症状的卫生工作者进行。6 个月的随访后共纳入 320 例患者：病例组 195 例，对照组 125 例。分析两组患者 6 个月随访时的嗅觉障碍（OD）、嗅觉障碍（dysosmia）、味觉障碍（GD）发病和恢复率。
病例组 125 例（64.1%）患者存在 OD，118 例（60.5%）患者存在 GD。89%的患者出现 OD 和 GD 完全或部分恢复，主要发生在头 2 个月。对照组中，14 例（11.2%）患者出现 OD，33 例（26.4%）患者出现 GD，完全或部分恢复率为 100%。
在两组中，症状出现后头两个月 OD 和 GD 的恢复率均较高。然而，病例组中有 11%的患者未出现任何恢复，30%的患者部分恢复，在 6 个月随访时仍存在这些症状。我们发现 OD 和 GD 之间存在高度相关性，无论是在症状出现还是在恢复方面。鼻阻塞和呼吸困难已被确定为症状持续存在的危险因素。
