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 Surgery2022
Long-lasting olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients.
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, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Evidence-based position paper on physical and rehabilitation medicine professional practice for persons with COVID-19, including post COVID-19 condition: the European PRM position (UEMS PRM Section).European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2023Guideline
- The assessment of qualitative olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients: a systematic review of tools and their content validity.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Exploring the Paradoxical Association Between Chest CT Pulmonary Involvement and Olfactory Dysfunction in COVID-19 Patients: A Prospective Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Review
- Prevalence of olfactory dysfunction among postpartum women and impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy.Chemical senses · 2025Article
- Long-term self-reported symptoms and psychophysical tests in COVID-19 subjects experiencing persistent olfactory dysfunction: a 4-year follow-up study.Frontiers in neural circuits · 2025Article
- Factors Associated With Persisting Olfactory Dysfunction After COVID-19.Clinical otolaryngology : official journal of ENT-UK ; official journal of Netherlands Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology & Cervico-Facial Surgery · 2025Article
- Systems Thinking, Causal Loop Diagram, and Systems Dynamic in Public Health Challenges: Navigating Long COVID Syndrome and Sense of Smell in LGBTQIA+ Communities.Public health challenges · 2024Review
- Long-Term Taste and Smell Outcomes After COVID-19.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Persistent Olfactory and Taste Dysfunction after COVID-19.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
- Integrating the patient's voice into the research agenda for treatment of chemosensory disorders.Chemical senses · 2024Article
- Comparative Analysis of Olfactory and Gustatory Function of Patients With COVID-19 Olfactory Dysfunction and Non-COVID-19 Postinfectious Olfactory Dysfunction.Journal of Korean medical science · 2023Article
- Distinct smell and taste disorder phenotype of post-acute COVID-19 sequelae.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 · 2023Observational
- Reliability and validity of the Polish version of the Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2023Article
- Longitudinal Association of COVID-19 Hospitalization and Death with Online Search for Loss of Smell or Taste.Emerging infectious diseases · 2023Article
- The use of prescription drugs and health care services during the 6-month post-COVID-19 period.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Long COVID, the Brain, Nerves, and Cognitive Function.Neurology international · 2023Review
- [S1 guidelines for the management of postviral conditions using the example of post-COVID-19].Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2023Article
- Olfactory training with essential oils for patients with post-COVID-19 smell dysfunction: A case series.European journal of integrative medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesOlfactory dysfunction (OD) is a common symptom of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although many patients have been reported to regain olfactory function within the first month, long-term observation reports vary. Therefore, we aimed to assess the course of chemosensory function in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 within 3-15 months after the infection.
methodsOne hundred and two patients (71 females and 31 males; mean age 38.8 years) diagnosed with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and subjective OD participated in this single-center study 111-457 days after onset of OD. Patients first performed chemosensory tests at home, followed by psychophysical testing (Sniffin' Sticks (TDI), 27-item Candy Smell Test (CST), Taste Strips Test (TST)) in the clinic. Questionnaires regarding importance of olfaction (IOQ) and olfactory-specific quality of life (QOD) were applied at both timepoints.
resultsAfter a mean 216 days (SD 73; range 111-457) between OD onset and follow-up testing, the mean Sniffin' Sticks (TDI) score was 27.1 points (SD 5.8; range 4.25-38.5): 4.0% were anosmic, 72.5% hyposmic, and 23.5% normosmic. At follow-up testing, 73.5% of patients reported improvement, 5.9% deterioration, and 20.6% no change in OD. Moreover, full recovery of self-perceived smell, flavor, and taste was not observed. According to questionnaires, the individual importance of smell did not change, but participants showed improvement in OD-related quality of life (p < 0.001) and had increased parosmia scores (p = 0.014) at follow-up.
conclusionOur results show that long-lasting OD after SARS-CoV-2 infection is a common symptom. The majority of patients had OD in the range of hyposmia, which was confirmed by comprehensive smell tests.
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