Department of ENT, Faridabad, India.
Department of Physiology, Faridabad, India.
J Laryngol Otol. 2022 Aug;136(8):747-749. doi: 10.1017/S0022215122000986. Epub 2022 Apr 27.
This study aimed: to evaluate the association between coronavirus disease 2019 infection and olfactory and taste dysfunction in patients presenting to the out-patient department with influenza-like illness, who underwent reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing for coronavirus; and to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of olfactory and taste dysfunction and other symptoms in these patients.
Patients presenting with influenza-like illness to the study centre in September 2020 were included in the study. The symptoms of patients who tested positive for coronavirus on reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing were compared to those with negative test results.
During the study period, 909 patients, aged 12-70 years, presented with influenza-like illness; of these, 316 (34.8 per cent) tested positive for coronavirus. Only the symptoms of olfactory and taste dysfunction were statistically more significant in patients testing positive for coronavirus than those testing negative.
During the pandemic, patients presenting to the out-patient department with sudden loss of sense of smell or taste may be considered as positive for coronavirus disease 2019, until proven otherwise.
本研究旨在：评估在因流感样疾病就诊的门诊患者中，经逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测冠状病毒的患者中，2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）感染与嗅觉和味觉障碍之间的关联；并确定这些患者中嗅觉和味觉障碍及其他症状的灵敏度、特异性、阳性预测值和阴性预测值。
2020 年 9 月，在研究中心纳入因流感样疾病就诊的患者。将冠状病毒 RT-PCR 检测阳性患者的症状与检测结果为阴性的患者进行比较。
在研究期间，909 名年龄在 12-70 岁之间的患者因流感样疾病就诊；其中 316 名（34.8%）冠状病毒检测阳性。仅嗅觉和味觉障碍的症状在冠状病毒检测阳性患者中比在检测结果为阴性的患者中更具统计学意义。
在大流行期间，对于因突然嗅觉或味觉丧失就诊的门诊患者，可考虑 COVID-19 检测呈阳性，直到有其他证据证明。
