Clinical and Radiological Evaluations ofCOVID-19 Patients With Anosmia: Preliminary Report

Objectives/Hypothesis To investigate clinical and radiological features of olfactory clefts of patients with mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Study Design Prospective non controlled study. Methods Sixteen COVID-19 patients were recruited. The epidemiological and clinical data were extracted. Nasal complaints were assessed through the 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test. Patients underwent psychophysical olfactory testing, olfactory cleft examination, and computed tomography (CT) scans. Results Sixteen anosmic patients were included. The mean Sniffin' Sticks score was 4.6 +/- 1.7. The majority of patients had no endoscopical abnormality, with a mean olfactory cleft endoscopy score of 0.6 +/- 0.9. The olfactory clefts were opacified in three patients on the CT scan. The mean radiological olfactory cleft score was 0.7 +/- 0.8. There were no significant correlations between clinical, radiological, and psychophysical olfactory testing. Conclusions The olfactory cleft of anosmic COVID-19 patients is free regarding endoscopic examination and imaging. The anosmia etiology is not related to edema of the olfactory cleft. Level of Evidence 4Laryngoscope, 2020