Assessment of anosmia/hyposmia in post-COVID-19 patients: a cross-sectional study in an eastern province of Saudi Arabia

Reem Mohamed; Reem Alsuhibani; Heba Almasaoud; Shahad Alsubhi; Lama Alabdulazeem; Nora  Alzahrani; Seham Alsaif; Kholoud Al Ghamdi; Lubna Al-Asoom

doi:10.23750/abm.v94i6.15130

Assessment of anosmia/hyposmia in post-COVID-19 patients: a cross-sectional study in an eastern province of Saudi Arabia

Authors

Reem Mohamed College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8221-4386
Reem Alsuhibani College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3858-6413
Heba Almasaoud College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5564-7055
Shahad Alsubhi College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8396-0667
Lama Alabdulazeem College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0080-0686
Nora Alzahrani College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7711-6119
Seham Alsaif Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9631-9993
Kholoud Al Ghamdi Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3757-1806
Lubna Al-Asoom Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0371-2367

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v94i6.15130

Keywords:

COVID-19, Olfactory dysfunction, Anosmia, Hyposmia, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background and aim It has been shown that olfactory dysfunction is one of Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19)common and puzzling symptoms that may persist weeks after the infection. This study aimed for the objective assessment of persisting olfactory dysfunction in post-COVID-19 patients. It also investigated the factors associated with the development of such symptoms in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study that was conducted in the Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, Khobar, Saudi Arabia. One hundred and forty-seven participants were included in this study, and sixty of them agreed to participate in the objective testing using the Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center (CCCRC) olfaction test. Results: There was a significant correlation between the following factors: (1) Persistence of anosmia/hyposmia and the time of onset of anosmia/hyposmia (P=0.015). (2) Persistence of anosmia/hyposmia and the duration of anosmia/hyposmia (P=0.012). (3) Duration of anosmia/hyposmia and the duration of COVID-19 symptoms (P=0.010). Interestingly, there was a significant association between the subjective participants’ claim of anosmia/hyposmia and the score of their objective assessment (P=0.026). Conclusion: The current study demonstrated that post-COVID-19 participants with delayed onset of anosmia/hyposmia and/or longer duration of either anosmia/hyposmia or COVID-19 symptoms were prone to have persistent olfactory dysfunction. Further studies are necessary to uncover the underlying pathophysiology and management of this olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients.

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