Persisting olfactory dysfunction improves in patients 6 months after COVID-19 disease

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Infectious Diseases
• Neurology

Background:

• Persistent smell disorders affect approximately 50% of COVID-19 patients.
• The long-term duration of these olfactory symptoms remains largely unknown.
• Few studies have utilized validated olfactory testing to assess COVID-19-related smell loss.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate olfactory function improvement at six months in patients with COVID-19-related smell impairment detected at three months.
• To quantify the recovery rate of olfactory function using validated testing methods.

Main Methods:

• Included 26 patients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 and impaired olfactory function at three months post-infection.
• Assessed olfactory function using the validated "sniffing sticks" test.
• Evaluated taste function using taste sprays.

Main Results:

• Smelling function improved in 96% of patients (25 out of 26).
• Significant improvements were observed in olfactory threshold, identification, and discrimination.
• All patients demonstrated normal taste function in the whole mouth test.

Conclusions:

• Olfactory function shows substantial improvement in nearly all patients six months after COVID-19.
• Further long-term studies are needed to determine if complete olfactory regeneration occurs in all cases.