Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33349441›Full record

SynthesisThe American journal of the medical sciences2021

The Association of "Loss of Smell" to COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Muhammad Aziz, Hemant Goyal, Hossein Haghbin, Wade M Lee-Smith, Mahesh Gajendran, Abhilash Perisetti

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The American journal of the medical sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
44citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
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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

44 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  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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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

6 authors.

Muhammad AzizDepartment of Internal Medicine, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.
Hemant GoyalThe Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, Scranton, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: doc.hemant@yahoo.com.
Hossein HaghbinDepartment of Internal Medicine, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.
Wade M Lee-SmithUniversity of Toledo Libraries, Toledo, Ohio.
Mahesh GajendranPaul L. Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, El Paso, Texas.
Abhilash PerisettiDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe presence of olfactory dysfunction or "loss of smell" has been reported as an atypical symptom in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the available literature to evaluate the prevalence of "loss of smell" in COVID-19 as well as its utility for prognosticating the disease severity.

methodsAn exhaustive search of the PubMed/Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, LitCovid NIH, and WHO COVID-19 database was conducted through August 6

resultsA total of 51 studies with 11074 confirmed COVID-19 patients were included. Of these, 21 studies used a control group with 3425 patients. The symptom of "loss of smell" (OR: 14.7, CI: 8.9-24.3) was significantly higher in the COVID-19 group when compared to the control group. Seven studies comparing severe COVID-19 patients with- and without "loss of smell" demonstrated favorable prognosis for patients with "loss of smell" (OR: 0.36, CI 0.27-0.48).

conclusionsOlfactory dysfunction or "loss of smell" is a prevalent symptom in COVID-19 patients. Moreover, COVID-19 patients with "loss of smell" appear to have a milder course of the disease.

Indexed as

AnosmiaCOVID-19HumansSmellCoronavirusCOVID-19Loss of smellOlfactory dysfunctionSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID33349441
PMCPMC7604015

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.