COVID-19-Associated Parosmia and Dysgeusia: A Case Series

Impairment of the chemical senses - smell, taste, and chemesthesis - has been pinpointed as one of the main clinical presentations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Chemosensory dysfunction can be quantitative, involving reduction or loss of perception (e.g., hyposmia, anosmia, hypogeusia), and qualitative, involving distortion of perception (parosmia and dysgeusia). Quantitative chemosensory dysfunction is reported more often among COVID-19 patients than qualitative dysfunction. The following report details four patients with a laboratory-assisted diagnosis of COVID-19 who experienced qualitative chemosensory dysfunction. A discussion of these symptoms in the broader context of upper respiratory tract infections is included, with an emphasis on olfactory dysfunction.