Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33159556›Full record

ArticleEuropean archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery2021

Olfactory taste disorder as a presenting symptom of COVID-19: a large single-center Singapore study.

Alex C Tham, Tun-Linn Thein, Chrisanda S Lee, Glorijoy S E Tan, Charmaine M Manauis, J K Siow, Y S Leo, M Y Lim

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Systematic review and meta-analysis of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in COVID-19.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2022
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  14. Taste loss as a distinct symptom of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2021
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Alex C ThamDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308433, Singapore. dralextham@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0390-414X
Tun-Linn TheinNational Centre for Infectious Diseases, Singapore, Singapore.
Chrisanda S LeeDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308433, Singapore.
Glorijoy S E TanNational Centre for Infectious Diseases, Singapore, Singapore.
Charmaine M ManauisDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
J K SiowDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308433, Singapore.
Y S LeoNational Centre for Infectious Diseases, Singapore, Singapore.
M Y LimDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308433, Singapore.
Tan Tock Seng Hospital · SGNational Centre for Infectious Diseases · SG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo investigate the prevalence and epidemiological risk factors of olfactory and/or taste disorder (OTD), in particular isolated OTD, in patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection.

methodsWe conducted a retrospective and cross-sectional study. Patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection were recruited from the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) Singapore between 24 March 2020 and 16 April 2020. The electronic health records of these patients were accessed, and demographic data and symptoms reported (respiratory, self-reported OTD and other symptoms such as headache, myalgia and lethargy) were collected.

resultsA total of 1065 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were recruited. Overall, the prevalence of OTD was 12.6%. Twelve patients (1.1%) had isolated OTD. The top three symptoms associated with OTD were cough, fever and sore throat. The symptoms of runny nose and blocked nose were experienced by only 29.8 and 19.3% of patients, respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the female gender, presence of blocked nose and absence of fever were significantly associated with OTD (adjusted relative risks 1.77, 3.31, 0.42, respectively). All these factors were statistically significant.

conclusionPatients with COVID-19 infection can present with OTD, either in isolation or in combination with other general symptoms. Certain demographic profile, such as being female, and symptomatology such as the presence of blocked nose and absence of fever, were more likely to have OTD when infected by COVID-19. Further studies to elucidate the pathophysiology of OTD in these patients will be beneficial.

Indexed as

COVID-19Olfaction DisordersCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansRetrospective StudiesSARS-CoV-2SingaporeTaste DisordersAgeusiaAnosmiaCOVID-19Olfactory disorderTaste disoder

Identifiers

PMID33159556
PMCPMC7648204
OpenAlexW3095067560

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.