Boscolo-Rizzo Paolo, Hummel Thomas, Invitto Sara, Spinato Giacomo, Tomasoni Michele, Emanuelli Enzo, Tofanelli Margherita, Cavicchia Angelo, Grill Vittorio, Vaira Luigi Angelo, Lechien Jerome R, Borsetto Daniele, Polesel Jerry, Dibattista Michele, Menini Anna, Hopkins Claire, Tirelli Giancarlo
Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, Section of Otolaryngology, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
Smell & Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2023 Oct;13(10):1864-1875. doi: 10.1002/alr.23148. Epub 2023 Mar 15.
The aim of this study was to psychophysically evaluate the prevalence of smell and taste dysfunction 2 years after mildly symptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection compared to that observed at 1-year follow-up and while considering the background of chemosensory dysfunction in the no-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) population.
This is a prospective case-control study on 93 patients with polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive SARS-CoV-2 infection and 93 matched controls. Self-reported olfactory and gustatory dysfunction was assessed by 22-item Sino-Nasal-Outcome Test (SNOT-22), item "Sense of smell or taste." Psychophysical orthonasal and retronasal olfactory function and gustatory performance were estimated using the extended Sniffin' Sticks test battery, 20 powdered tasteless aromas, and taste strips test, respectively. Nasal trigeminal sensitivity was assessed by sniffing a 70% solution of acetic acid.
The two psychophysical assessments of chemosensory function took place after a median of 409 days (range, 366-461 days) and 765 days (range, 739-800 days) from the first SARS-CoV-2-positive swab, respectively. At 2-year follow-up, cases exhibited a decrease in the prevalence of olfactory (27.9% vs. 42.0%; absolute difference, -14.0%; 95% confidence interval [CI], -21.8% to -2.6%; p = 0.016) and gustatory dysfunction (14.0% vs. 25.8%; absolute difference, -11.8%; 95% CI, -24.2% to 0.6%; p = 0.098). Subjects with prior COVID-19 were more likely than controls to have an olfactory dysfunction (27.9% vs. 10.8 %; absolute difference, 17.2%; 95% CI, 5.2% to 28.8%) but not gustatory dysfunction (14.0% vs. 9.7%; absolute difference, 4.3%; 95% CI, -5.8% to 14.4% p = 0.496) still 2 years after the infection. Overall, 3.2% of cases were still anosmic 2 years after the infection.
Although a proportion of subjects recovered from long-lasting smell/taste dysfunction more than 1 year after COVID-19, cases still exhibited a significant excess of olfactory dysfunction 2 years after SARS-CoV-2 infection when compared to matched controls.
本研究的目的是通过心理物理学方法评估轻度症状的严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）感染2年后嗅觉和味觉功能障碍的患病率，并与1年随访时的情况进行比较，同时考虑非冠状病毒病2019（COVID-19）人群的化学感觉功能障碍背景。
这是一项针对93例聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测呈SARS-CoV-2阳性的患者和93例匹配对照的前瞻性病例对照研究。通过22项鼻鼻窦结局测试（SNOT-22）中的“嗅觉或味觉”项目评估自我报告的嗅觉和味觉功能障碍。分别使用扩展的嗅棒测试组、20种无味粉末香气和味觉条测试来评估心理物理学正相嗅觉和后鼻嗅觉功能以及味觉表现。通过嗅闻70%的醋酸溶液评估鼻三叉神经敏感性。
两次化学感觉功能的心理物理学评估分别在首次SARS-CoV-2阳性拭子采样后的中位数409天（范围366 - 461天）和765天（范围739 - 800天）进行。在2年随访时，病例组嗅觉功能障碍患病率下降（27.9%对42.0%；绝对差异，-14.0%；95%置信区间[CI]，-21.8%至-2.6%；p = 0.016），味觉功能障碍患病率也下降（14.0%对25.8%；绝对差异，-11.8%；95% CI，-24.2%至0.6%；p = 0.098）。既往感染过COVID-19的受试者比对照组更有可能出现嗅觉功能障碍（27.9%对10.8%；绝对差异，17.2%；95% CI，5.2%至28.8%），但味觉功能障碍发生率无差异（14.0%对9.7%；绝对差异，4.3%；95% CI，-5.8%至14.4%，p = 0.496），即使在感染后2年。总体而言，3.2%的病例在感染后2年仍存在嗅觉丧失。
尽管一部分受试者在COVID-19感染1年多后从长期的嗅觉/味觉功能障碍中恢复，但与匹配的对照组相比，病例组在SARS-CoV-2感染2年后仍存在明显更多的嗅觉功能障碍。
