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Assessment of mucociliary clearance as an indicator of nasal function in patients with COVID-19: a cross-sectional
Mehtap Koparal1, Ercan Kurt2, Emine Elif Altuntas3
1Department of Otolaryngology, Adıyaman University Education and Training Hospital, Adıyaman, Turkey. drmehtapkoparal@gmail.com.
Purpose:
We assessed the effects of COVID-19 infection on nasal mucociliary activity.
Methods:
The study was conducted in the pandemic wards of Adiyaman University Training and Research Hospital during April and May 2020. All patients admitted to the COVID-19 pandemic wards during the study period were invited to participate in the study. The study included 40 adults who agreed to participate and underwent a mucociliary clearance test successfully. The primary outcome was mucociliary clearance time and the secondary variables of interest were age, sex, and sino-nasal outcome test-22 scores. The control group included 40 concomitant healthy patients who visited the outpatient ear, nose and throat clinic with non-nasal symptoms.
Results:
The study included 40 COVID-19-positive patients and 40 healthy controls. The mean mucociliary clearance times of the study (15.53 ± 5.57 min) and control (9.50 ± 3.70 min) groups were significantly different (Z = 4.675, p < 0.001). However, the mucociliary clearance time was not significantly different between males and females (t = 0.590, p = 0.558).
Conclusions:
Nasal mucociliary clearance time was prolonged in COVID-19 patients compared to healthy controls. Thus, we conclude that smell and taste are crucial symptoms that should not be overlooked in patients suspected of COVID-19 disease.
