A Clinical Study of Smell Disorders in COVID-19 Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Pondicherry: A Cross Sectional Study

Anosmia and ageusia are the first and maybe the only symptom in patients affected with COVID-19 especially if the patient is paucisymptomatic. This aim of this study was to determine the demographic details of patients with anosmia, prevalence of anosmia and the time taken for it to resolve in patients who are positive for COVID-19 and took treatment in our hospital. Cross Sectional Study. Patients with real time polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) positive nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs, who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. The study group was interviewed through telephonic calls and a questionnaire filled to see the development and regression of their symptoms. Of the study population of 1000, 742 patients had some sort of a smell disturbance. There was a positive correlation between the severity of the disease and history of smoking. The prevalence of smell disturbances among COVID-19 patients in our study was 74.2%. One important finding that we found out was that majority of the smokers had moderate disease. Most of the patients had complete recovery form smell disturbance in the due course of time. The mean time for resolution of smell disturbance was found to be 9.89 days. Anosmia and ageusia can represent the only symptomatology present in patients with COVID-19 and they are completely reversible and hence they can be used as early predictors of infection. Level of Evidence: Level 2.

Automated summary

Anosmia and ageusia could be the first and possibly only symptoms in COVID-19 patients, with most patients experiencing complete recovery within a certain period of time. Severity of the disease was found to be positively correlated with smoking history, while the average recovery time for olfactory disturbances was 9.89 days.