Prevalence of Olfactory and Gustatory Dysfunction in Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): A Cross Sectional Study in Our Tertiary Care Hospital

COVID-19 pandemic is affecting millions of people all across the globe. Along with other clinical features, anosmia and dysgeusia are important symptoms being seen. This study evaluates the prevalence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in patients with SARS CoV-2 infection in a tertiary care centre and the severity and duration of altered taste and smell sensation in COVID positive patients. A total number of 167 patients that had tested positive for COVID 19 KLES Dr. Prabhakar Kore hospital in the study period of 3 months were assessed for presence and severity of olfactory and gustatory sensations. The prevalence of alteration of sense in COVID 19 patients in our tertiary care centre was found to be 62.87% and alteration of taste was 58.68%. This study shows that smell and taste loss has a high prevalence in patients of COVID 19 and health care workers should keep high degree of suspicion for COVID 19 when patients present with these symptoms. The early identification may help to reduce the risk of spread.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the prevalence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in patients with SARS CoV-2 infection, finding rates of 62.87% for olfactory dysfunction and 58.68% for gustatory dysfunction. The results suggest that healthcare workers should have a high degree of suspicion for COVID-19 when patients present with smell and taste loss, as early identification may help reduce the risk of spread.