Dilemma of prolonged post- COVID 19 anosmia treatment

AbdElHakeem Mahmoud Ali Ragaee, Department(s) and institution(s) otorhinolaryngology depertment, faculty of medicine, Assiut universityFollow

Article Type

Original Study

Subject Area

Rhinology, Endoscopic sinus surgery

Abstract

Context: Anosmia is one of the pathognomonic neurological symptoms of COVID-19 since its begging at the end of 2019. Many patients suffered persistently for prolonged time after infected with this virus. Aims: The aim of this study was to recognise the predisposing factors, to identify possible treatment regimens and to assess the prognosis of prolonged post- COVID-19 anosmia. Settings and Design: retrospective observational study

Methods and Material: study conducted among patients with post COVID-19 anosmia. Thirty-four patients sought medical advice for having prolonged post-COVID-19 anosmia between the period of August 2020 and October 2021 and assessed for predisposing factors. They were treated with local and systemic steroid, anti-inflammatory drugs and decongestant, and olfactory training for 2 weeks. The assessment of smell was done using (Visual Analog Scale from 0 to 10). The smell scores were recorded every two weeks, and the duration of smell loss was recorded from the onset of anosmia till the full recovery. Statistical analysis used: Collection, coding, and verification of data was carried out using Excel software by the researcher. Data was statistically analysed using IBM-SPSS version 26 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Data was expressed as mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentages. Repeated Measure ANOVA (RM-ANOVA) test was used to compere means of VAS-smell scores of same odours in different visits and post-hoc test with Bonferroni correction was used for pairwise time analysis. P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered the accepted level of significance in this work. Results: thirty-two patients regained smell sense at the end of follow up and two patients showed little or no improvement, the smell scores significantly improved in most of the patients by the end of the second week (P < 0.001). Most of the patients had CRS with different causes, which was thought to predispose to prolonged anosmia. Conclusions: The results suggested that prolonged post covid-19 anosmia can be treated easily considering the predisposing factors, with the combination of medical treatment and olfactory training. Presence of history of chronic rhinosinusitis in patients with prolonged anosmia may be a good prognostic factor.

Keywords

COVID-19, Smell, Prolonged anosmia, Predisposing factors, Chronic rhinosinusitis, loss of smell, treatment of anosmia

Recommended Citation

Ragaee A. Dilemma of prolonged post- COVID 19 anosmia treatment. Pan Arab J. Rhinol. 2022; 12 : 51-57.
Available at: https://pajr.researchcommons.org/journal/vol12/iss2/4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.58595/2090-7559.1207