Olfactory and Gustatory Dysfunction as an Early Identifier of COVID‐19 in Adults and Children: An International Multicenter Study

Abstract

To evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of olfactory or gustatory dysfunction in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) patients.

Study Design

Multicenter case series.

Setting

Five tertiary care hospitals (3 in China, 1 in France, 1 in Germany).

Subjects and Methods

In total, 394 polymerase chain reaction (PCR)–confirmed COVID‐19‐positive patients were screened, and those with olfactory or gustatory dysfunction were included. Data including demographics, COVID‐19 severity, patient outcome, and the incidence and degree of olfactory and/or gustatory dysfunction were collected and analyzed. The Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders (QOD) and visual analog scale (VAS) were used to quantify olfactory and gustatory dysfunction, respectively. All subjects at 1 hospital (Shanghai) without subjective olfactory complaints underwent objective testing.

Results

Of 394 screened subjects, 161 (41%) reported olfactory and/or gustatory dysfunction and were included. Incidence of olfactory and/or gustatory disorders in Chinese (n = 239), German (n = 39), and French (n = 116) cohorts was 32%, 69%, and 49%, respectively. The median age of included subjects was 39 years, 92 of 161 (57%) were male, and 10 of 161 (6%) were children. Of included subjects, 10% had only olfactory or gustatory symptoms, and 19% had olfactory and/or gustatory complaints prior to any other COVID‐19 symptom. Of subjects with objective olfactory testing, 10 of 90 demonstrated abnormal chemosensory function despite reporting normal subjective olfaction. Forty‐three percent (44/102) of subjects with follow‐up showed symptomatic improvement in olfaction or gustation.

Conclusions

Olfactory and/or gustatory disorders may represent early or isolated symptoms of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. They may serve as a useful additional screening criterion, particularly for the identification of patients in the early stages of infection.

SciScore for 10.1101/2020.05.13.20100198: (What is this?)

Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

Table 1: Rigor

Institutional Review Board Statement	IRB: This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committees of Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, Wuhan Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital, and Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center; the Ethics Committee of the University Clinic, TU Dresden; and the Ethics Committee of Lariboisière University Hospital.
Randomization	not detected.
Blinding	not detected.
Power Analysis	not detected.
Sex as a biological variable	not detected.

Table 2: Resources

Software and Algorithms
Sentences	Resources
All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 26.0 software (SPSS Inc).	Statistical Package for the Social Sciences suggeste…

SciScore for 10.1101/2020.05.13.20100198: (What is this?)

Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

Table 1: Rigor

Institutional Review Board Statement	IRB: This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committees of Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, Wuhan Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital, and Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center; the Ethics Committee of the University Clinic, TU Dresden; and the Ethics Committee of Lariboisière University Hospital.
Randomization	not detected.
Blinding	not detected.
Power Analysis	not detected.
Sex as a biological variable	not detected.

Table 2: Resources

Software and Algorithms
Sentences	Resources
All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 26.0 software (SPSS Inc).	Statistical Package for the Social Sciences suggested: (SPSS, RRID:SCR_002865) SPSS suggested: (SPSS, RRID:SCR_002865)

Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

Results from rtransparent:

Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
No protocol registration statement was detected.

Read the original source