Characteristics of Impaired Chemosensory Function in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients

Background: Infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19, which is currently spreading worldwide, causing a pandemic. There have been accounts that impaired sense of taste and/or smell (chemosensors) may be a symptom of COVID-19. We investigated inpatients treated for COVID-19 at the University Hospital of Munich, Germany, for the presence of impaired chemosensory function.Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review. Patients that were treated in an inpatient setting were asked for impaired chemosensory function. If this was indicated, chemosensory function was investigated with the brief smell identification test and taste strips.Results: Overall, 47 patients with COVID-19 (diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction) were included. Out of these 47, 15 indicated impaired chemosensory function, and 14 participated in the further investigation. Average age of patients was 63.8 ± 13.3 years, with 13 being male and two female. Ten patients showed anosmia and four patients showed hyposmia in the smell test. Nine patients also showed signs of hypogeusia. Average time between first COVID-19 symptoms and impaired chemosensory function was on average 3.4 ± 3.1 days. Half of all patients explicitly noted that onset was very abrupt.Conclusion: Impaired chemosensory function is a common symptom in COVID-19 disease. It is usually abrupt, extensive and early in the course of the disease. We present data to suggest that every patient with newly arisen chemosensory impairment should be treated as a potential COVID-19 patient.Funding Statement: The entire study was funded by the Department of Otorhinologygology, Head and Neck Surgery (Chair: Prof. Martin Canis).Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.Ethics Approval Statement: The study at hand was registered with the ethics committee of the Ludwig-Maximilians University (Munich, Federal Republic of Germany) under the file number 20-253.