Curr Allergy Asthma Rep . Chemosensory Dysfunction in Patients with COVID-19: What Do We Learn from the Global Outbreak?

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Curr Allergy Asthma Rep


. 2021 Feb 3;21(2):6.
doi: 10.1007/s11882-020-00987-5.
Chemosensory Dysfunction in Patients with COVID-19: What Do We Learn from the Global Outbreak?


Ming Zeng ¹ , De-Yun Wang ² , Joaquim Mullol ³ , Zheng Liu ⁴



Affiliations

• PMID: 33537862
• DOI: 10.1007/s11882-020-00987-5

Abstract

Purpose of review: Chemosensory dysfunction in the patients with COVID-19 has been reported frequently in the studies from different regions of the world. However, the prevalence of smell and/or taste disorders presents significant ethnic and geographic variability. In addition, the pathogenesis of chemosensory dysfunction remains unclarified.
Recent findings: This is a narrative review on the recent state of the prevalence, mechanism, and diagnostic and therapeutic strategy of chemosensory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients during the global pandemic. The chemosensory dysfunction was analysis based on recent studies, which either used questionnaires, Likert scales (0-10), or smell tests to estimate the smell and taste dysfunction. The ethnic and geographic difference of the prevalence of smell and/or taste disorders and the potential underlying mechanisms have been discussed. Several suggestions on the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 patients with smell and taste disorders were summarized for the physicians. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current studies regarding the chemosensory dysfunction during the COVID-19 worldwide outbreak.

Keywords: Chemosensory dysfunction; Coronavirus disease 2019; Loss of smell; Loss or distortion of taste; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.