Allergy Department, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain.
Allergy Department, Hospital Clínico Universitario Lozano Blesa, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón (IIS Aragón), Zaragoza, Spain.
J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2021 Apr;31(2):151-161. doi: 10.18176/jiaci.0670.
Since the early stages of the novel coronavirus 2019 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak, smell and/or taste dysfunction (STD) has been reported in 5% to 88% of COVID-19 patients. Objective: We aimed to assess STD in health care professionals (HCPs), mainly allergists, affected by COVID-19. We carried out a survey to evaluate the association between STD and its severity and demographic characteristics, symptoms, comorbidities, and hospital admission.
We designed a 15-item questionnaire comprising various sections, as follows: demographics, diagnostic characteristics, STD patterns, medication use, and comorbidities. The questionnaire was developed using Google forms. It was distributed to members of the Spanish Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (SEAIC) and sent via social media to be completed by HCPs with COVID-19.
The survey was completed by HCPs (n=234), of whom 76.5% were aged ≤55 years and 73.5% were female. STD was detected in 74.4% of respondents, of whom 95.6% reported moderate-severe impairment. Mean time until recovery of taste dysfunction was 21.6 (24.0) days in HCPs aged ≤55 years and 33.61±26.2 days in those aged >55 years (P=.019). Analysis stratified by severity of STD showed that more than a half of COVID-19 patients presented severe loss of smell. Older age (>55 years) was associated with fever, anorexia, lower frequency of headache, and longer persistence of taste dysfunction.
STD is a common symptom in COVID-19, even as a unique or preceding symptom. HCPs who reported smell dysfunction were younger than those not affected with STD. Taste dysfunction may imply more systemic involvement in COVID-19-positive HCPs.
自 2019 年新型冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2）爆发的早期阶段以来，5%至 88%的 COVID-19 患者报告有嗅觉和/或味觉功能障碍（STD）。目的：我们旨在评估受 COVID-19 影响的医护人员（HCPs），主要是过敏科医生，的 STD 情况。我们进行了一项调查，以评估 STD 及其严重程度与人口统计学特征、症状、合并症和住院之间的关系。
我们设计了一个包含多个部分的 15 项问卷，如下所示：人口统计学、诊断特征、STD 模式、药物使用和合并症。该问卷使用 Google 表单开发。它分发给西班牙过敏和临床免疫学学会（SEAIC）的成员，并通过社交媒体发送给患有 COVID-19 的 HCPs 完成。
共有 234 名 HCPs 完成了调查，其中 76.5%年龄≤55 岁，73.5%为女性。74.4%的受访者检测到 STD，其中 95.6%报告有中度至重度损伤。年龄≤55 岁的 HCP 中味觉障碍恢复的平均时间为 21.6（24.0）天，年龄>55 岁的 HCP 为 33.61±26.2 天（P=.019）。按 STD 严重程度分层分析显示，超过一半的 COVID-19 患者出现严重嗅觉丧失。年龄较大（>55 岁）与发热、食欲不振、头痛频率较低和味觉障碍持续时间较长有关。
STD 是 COVID-19 的常见症状，甚至是唯一或早期的症状。报告有嗅觉障碍的 HCP 比没有 STD 的 HCP 更年轻。味觉障碍可能意味着 COVID-19 阳性 HCP 有更广泛的全身受累。
