Prevalence of Alterations in Sense of Smell or Taste in Patients with Mild COVID-19

Alterations in the sense of smell or taste as a manifestation of COVID-19 has been reported in the medical and lay literature. To characterize the prevalence and intensity of alterations in the sense of smell or taste in patients with mild COVID-19, investigators in Italy performed phone interviews with outpatient adults who were consecutively diagnosed with the disease, as confirmed by the detection of SARS-CoV-2 on polymerase chain reaction assay. Patients were interrogated about disease severity using the Acute Respiratory Infection Questionnaire, and about alterations in the sense of smell or taste in the preceding 2 weeks using the Sino-nasal Outcome Test-22, with a scale of 0 (none) to 5 (as bad as it can be).

The phone survey was completed by 202 out of 283 patients who were contacted. The patients' median age was 56 years, and 52% were women. Any alteration in the sense of smell or taste was reported by 64.4% of the patients, with median score of 4. The alteration in the sense of smell or taste occurred before the onset of typical COVID-19 symptoms in 11.9% of the patients, and it was the only symptom in 3.0% of patients. Women were significantly more likely than men to report alterations in the sense of smell or taste (72.4% vs. 55.7%).