Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33488054›Full record

ArticleHippokratia

The clinical course of smell and taste loss in COVID-19 hospitalized patients.

A Printza, M Katotomichelakis, S Metallidis, P Panagopoulos, A Sarafidou, V Petrakis, J Constantinidis

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC
In one paragraph

Article in Hippokratia. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 18% 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

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

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. Taste loss as a distinct symptom of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2021
    Article
  11. Clinical significance of olfactory dysfunction in patients of COVID-19.Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA · 2021
    Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
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

7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

A Printza1 Otolaryngology Department, Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
M KatotomichelakisOtolaryngology Department, School of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupoli, Greece.
S MetallidisFirst Department of Internal Medicine, AHEPA Hospital, Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
P PanagopoulosDepartment of Internal Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupoli, Greece.
A Sarafidou1 Otolaryngology Department, Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
V PetrakisDepartment of Internal Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupoli, Greece.
J Constantinidis1 Otolaryngology Department, Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki · GRDemocritus University of Thrace · GRAHEPA University Hospital · GR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRecent studies have demonstrated an association between a new onset of smell or taste loss and COVID-19. We investigated the prevalence of smell and/or taste loss and the clinical characteristics and recovery in a comprehensive cohort of consecutive patients treated by two COVID-19 reference hospitals and evaluated late persistence of hyposmia.

methodsA retrospective observational questionnaire study was conducted. All consecutive RT-PCR diagnosed patients who had been hospitalized in March-April 2020 in the COVID-19 care wards were contacted, excluding patients with cognitive disorders and severe deconditioning. The patients responded to a survey about the loss of smell and taste, nasal blockage, and rhinorrhea, rated the symptoms' severity from 0 to 4, and reported the recovery of smell and taste with time. Demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded.

resultsWe contacted 117 patients. Ninety responded to the questionnaire; 38.9 % of them reported olfactory and 36.66 % gustatory disorders during their disease. Smell loss prior to other symptoms was reported by 42.86 %, and severe hyposmia/anosmia by 74.28 % of the hyposmic. Among the non-ICU treated patients, 43.75 % reported hyposmia. Only 8.89 % had nasal blockage, and 6.66 % rhinorrhea. Most of the patients (85.71 %) recovered their sense of smell in 3-61 days (median: 17; IQR: 24), but 8.57 % had persistent hyposmia. For one out of four, the olfactory loss lasted longer than a month.

conclusionSmell and taste loss are highly prevalent and early symptoms in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The great majority recover their smell, but nearly one out of ten have not recovered in two months.  HIPPOKRATIA 2020, 24(2): 66-71.

Indexed as

anosmiaCOVID-19loss of smellloss of tasteOlfactory dysfunctionpost-viral

Identifiers

PMID33488054
PMCPMC7811875
OpenAlexW3121457411

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.