Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33409924›Full record

Trial reportBiological trace element research2021

Olfactory Disturbances as Presenting Manifestation Among Egyptian Patients with COVID-19: Possible Role of Zinc.

Aida A Abdelmaksoud, Ali A Ghweil, Mohammed H Hassan, Alaa Rashad, Ashraf Khodeary, Zaky F Aref, Mennatallah Ali Abdelrhman Sayed, Mahmoud K Elsamman, Shamardan E S Bazeed

Registry-linked trialOpen access · bronzeAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Biological trace element research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06080750 (Potential Role of Inflammasome NLRP3 And IL-1B Gene Expression In COVID-19 Patients), which is not on this map. Cited by 40 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
40citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
6.3field-weighted citation impact, top 2% 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.

NCT06080750 unknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

Potential Role of Inflammasome NLRP3 And IL-1B Gene Expression In COVID-19 Patients: Impact of Ferretin and D -Dimer.

Typeobservational_patient_registrySponsorAssiut UniversityRan2023 to 2025Enrolled75ConditionsInflammasome NLRP3 And IL-1B Gene Expression in COVID-19 PatientsArmsQuantitative Real Time Polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), ELISA and colorimeter
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

40 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 60 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
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  5. Pooled it
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
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  9. Article
  10. Assessment and behavioural management options for older adults with declined smell and taste functions: a scoping review.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 · 2026
    Article
  11. Review
  12. Observational
  13. Comparison Between Intranasal Insulin Films Alone and Combined Intranasal Insulin Plus Steroid Films for Post Viral Olfactory Dysfunction.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2025
    Article
  14. Treatments for Olfactory Dysfunction in COVID-19: A Systematic Review.International archives of otorhinolaryngology · 2024
    Review
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
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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

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Aida A AbdelmaksoudFaculty of Medicine, Department of ENT, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.
Ali A GhweilFaculty of Medicine, Department of Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.
Mohammed H HassanFaculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Biochemistry, South Valley University, Qena, 83523, Egypt. Mohammedhosnyhassaan@yahoo.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2698-9438
Alaa RashadFaculty of Medicine, Department of Chest Diseases, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.
Ashraf KhodearyFaculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Pathology, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.
Zaky F ArefFaculty of Medicine, Department of ENT, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.
Mennatallah Ali Abdelrhman SayedKing Salman International University, El Tor, Egypt.
Mahmoud K ElsammanFaculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.
Shamardan E S BazeedFaculty of Medicine, Department of Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.
South Valley University · EGSohag University · EGKing Salman International University

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

COVID-19 is a severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Deficiency of zinc has been supposed to contribute to loss of smell and taste in COVID-19 patients. Our study aimed to assess the serum zinc levels among patients with COVID-19 of various severities, with and without olfaction dysfunction, and to evaluate the effect of zinc therapy in recovery of smell dysfunction among such patients. This study included 134 patients; real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) proved SARS-CoV-2. Serum zinc levels were measured for all infected patients. One hundred and five patients were detected to have anosmia and/or hyposmia and were categorized randomly into 2 groups; the first group included 49 patients who received zinc therapy and the second group included 56 patients who did not received zinc. All patients were followed up for the recovery duration of olfactory and gustatory symptoms and duration of complete recovery of COVID-19. Olfactory dysfunction was reported in 105 patients (78.4%). Serum zinc levels were not significantly different between the patient subgroups regarding disease severity or the presence or absence of olfactory and/or gustatory dysfunction (p ˃ 0.05). The median duration of recovery of gustatory and/or olfactory function was significantly shorter among patients who received zinc therapy than those who did not received zinc (p < 0.001), while the median duration of complete recovery from COVID-19 was not significantly different among the two groups (p ˃ 0.05). Although the zinc status of COVID-19 patients did not exhibit a significant role in development of anosmia and/or hyposmia or disease severity, zinc therapy may have a significant role in shortening the duration of smell recovery in those patients without affecting the total recovery duration from COVID-19.

Indexed as

COVID-19SmellEgyptHumansSARS-CoV-2ZincZincAnosmiaCOVID-19HyposmiaZinc

Identifiers

PMID33409924
PMCPMC7787876
OpenAlexW3113754325

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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.