Objective: To describe the prevalence, onset, associated symptoms, and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in-patients with olfactory and gustatory dysfunction at the Philippine General Hospital from March 2021 to January 2022 and determine the number of patients with olfactory dysfunction/dysgeusia who recovered or expired. : Methods Design: Prospective Cohort Study Setting: COVID-19 Referral Hospital (Tertiary National University Hospital) Participants: COVID-19 RT-PCR positive in-patients, ages 19 and older Results: A total of 207 patients were included. Sixty-four (64) patients reported olfactory dysfunction and 79 reported dysgeusia. Olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were observed early in the course of infection, before day 6 of illness. The average length of hospital stay was 20.36 days; those with olfactory dysfunction stayed for 17.53 days, dysgeusia for 19.92 days, and 21.09 days for those who noted neither. For those subsequently intubated, 0 had olfactory dysfunction, three reported dysgeusia, three had both and six had neither. Thirteen (13) patients in the study expired. Among them, none reported olfactory dysfunction and two had dysgeusia. Conclusions Our results corroborate existing literature that olfactory and gustatory dysfunction as key indicators of COVID-19 with 42.5% of participants reporting these symptoms early, often before day 6 of illness. Ninety-two percent (92%) of those affected recovered and had shorter hospital stays, emphasizing the importance of recognizing these dysfunctions for improved disease detection and outcomes.
Anosmia ; Dysgeusia ; COVID-19 ; Coronavirus

Objective: This cross-sectional investigation aimed to determine the incidence, clinical characteristics, prognosis, and related risk factors of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain in mainland China. Methods: Data of patients with SARS-CoV-2 from December 28, 2022, to February 21, 2023, were collected through online and offline questionnaires from 45 tertiary hospitals and one center for disease control and prevention in mainland China. The questionnaire included demographic information, previous health history, smoking and alcohol drinking, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, olfactory and gustatory function before and after infection, other symptoms after infection, as well as the duration and improvement of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. The self-reported olfactory and gustatory functions of patients were evaluated using the Olfactory VAS scale and Gustatory VAS scale. Results: A total of 35 566 valid questionnaires were obtained, revealing a high incidence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain (67.75%). Females(χ2=367.013, P<0.001) and young people(χ2=120.210, P<0.001) were more likely to develop these dysfunctions. Gender(OR=1.564, 95%CI: 1.487-1.645), SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status (OR=1.334, 95%CI: 1.164-1.530), oral health status (OR=0.881, 95%CI: 0.839-0.926), smoking history (OR=1.152, 95%CI=1.080-1.229), and drinking history (OR=0.854, 95%CI: 0.785-0.928) were correlated with the occurrence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to SARS-CoV-2(above P<0.001). 44.62% (4 391/9 840) of the patients who had not recovered their sense of smell and taste also suffered from nasal congestion, runny nose, and 32.62% (3 210/9 840) suffered from dry mouth and sore throat. The improvement of olfactory and taste functions was correlated with the persistence of accompanying symptoms(χ2=10.873, P=0.001). The average score of olfactory and taste VAS scale was 8.41 and 8.51 respectively before SARS-CoV-2 infection, but decreased to3.69 and 4.29 respectively after SARS-CoV-2 infection, and recovered to 5.83and 6.55 respectively at the time of the survey. The median duration of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions was 15 days and 12 days, respectively, with 0.5% (121/24 096) of patients experiencing these dysfunctions for more than 28 days. The overall self-reported improvement rate of smell and taste dysfunctions was 59.16% (14 256/24 096). Gender(OR=0.893, 95%CI: 0.839-0.951), SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status (OR=1.334, 95%CI: 1.164-1.530), history of head and facial trauma(OR=1.180, 95%CI: 1.036-1.344, P=0.013), nose (OR=1.104, 95%CI: 1.042-1.171, P=0.001) and oral (OR=1.162, 95%CI: 1.096-1.233) health status, smoking history(OR=0.765, 95%CI: 0.709-0.825), and the persistence of accompanying symptoms (OR=0.359, 95%CI: 0.332-0.388) were correlated with the recovery of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to SARS-CoV-2 (above P<0.001 except for the indicated values). Conclusion: The incidence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain is high in mainland China, with females and young people more likely to develop these dysfunctions. Active and effective intervention measures may be required for cases that persist for a long time. The recovery of olfactory and taste functions is influenced by several factors, including gender, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status, history of head and facial trauma, nasal and oral health status, smoking history, and persistence of accompanying symptoms.
Female ; Humans ; Adolescent ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Smell ; COVID-19/complications* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; Incidence ; Olfaction Disorders/etiology* ; Taste Disorders/etiology* ; Prognosis

Objective: To observe the changes of olfactory function, intranasal trigeminal nerve function and taste function in patients with upper respiratory tract post-viral olfactory dysfunction (PVOD), and to explore the correlation of chemosensory function. Methods: The clinical data of 42 patients with PVOD who visited to the Olfactory and Taste Center of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Department of Beijing Anzhen Hospital from January to December of 2019 were analyzed retrospectively, including 20 males and 22 females, aging (48.86±11.47) years (x¯). Twenty subjects in normal control group were selected according to the sex ratio of PVOD patients. Sniffin' Sticks olfactory tests were performed on the subjects, including threshold test (T), discrimination test (D) and identification test (I), and the sum of the above three test scores was the TDI value. At the same time, olfactory event-related potentials (oERPs), trigeminal event-related potentials (tERPs) and taste function test were performed. According to the taste function test, the patients were divided into normal gustation (NG) group and gustatory dysfunction (GD) group. The results of olfaction, taste and intranasal trigeminal nerve function tests were compared among different groups, and the correlation analysis was carried out. SPSS statistical software was used for statistical analysis. Results: GD was present in 14 (33.3%) of 42 PVOD patients with a course of PVOD of 5 (3, 6) months (M (Q₁, Q₃)). The gustatory function of patients with PVOD was related to gender (r=0.565, P<0.001), smoking status (r=-0.512, P=0.001), duration (r=-0.357, P=0.020) and olfactory function (all P<0.05). The olfactory function of GD group was worse than that of NG group, and the differences of TDI value and T value between the two groups were statistically significant (10.25±4.58 vs 13.35±3.61, 1.54±0.66 vs 2.10±0.88, t value was 2.40 and 2.10 respectively, both P<0.05). The amplitudes of oERPs and tERPs were significantly lower in GD group than those in NG group (all P<0.05). Conclusion: In patients with PVOD, the subjective and objective olfactory function, intranasal trigeminal nerve function and taste function were decreased, and there was a correlation, suggesting that there was a synergistic effect between the chemosensory functions of PVOD patients.
Female ; Humans ; Male ; Nose ; Olfaction Disorders/etiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Smell ; Taste

Objective: To analyze the correlation between loss of smell/taste and the number of real confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide based on Google Trends data, and to explore the guiding role of smell/taste loss for the COVID-19 prevention and control. Methods: "Loss of smell" and "loss of taste" related keywords were searched in the Google Trends platform, the data were obtained from Jan. 1 2019 to Jul. 11 2021. The daily and newly confirmed COVID-19 case number were collected from World Health Organization (WHO) since Dec. 30 2019. All data were statistically analyzed by SPSS 23.0 software. The correlation was finally tested by Spearman correlation analysis. Results: A total of data from 80 weeks were collected. The retrospective analysis was performed on the new trend of COVID-19 confirmed cases in a total of 186 292 441 cases worldwide. Since the epidemic of COVID-19 was recorded on the WHO website, the relative searches related to loss of smell/taste in the Google Trends platform had been increasing globally. The global relative search volumes of "loss of smell" and "loss of taste" on Google Trends was 10.23±2.58 and 16.33±2.47 before the record of epidemic while 80.25±39.81 and 80.45±40.04 after (t value was 8.67, 14.43, respectively, both P<0.001). In the United States and India, the relative searches for "loss of smell" and "loss of taste" after the record of epidemic were also much higher than before (all P<0.001). The correlation coefficients between the trend of weekly new COVID-19 cases and the Google Trends of "loss of smell" in the global, United States, and India was 0.53, 0.76, and 0.82 respectively (all P<0.001), the correlation coefficients with Google Trends of "loss of taste" was 0.54, 0.78, and 0.82 respectively (all P<0.001). The lowest and highest point of loss of smell/taste search curves of Google Trends in different periods appeared 7 to 14 days earlier than that of the weekly newly COVID-19 confirmed cases curves, respectively. Conclusions: There is a significant positive correlation between the number of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide and the amount of keywords, such as "loss of smell" and "loss of taste", retrieved in Google Trends. The trend of big data based on Google Trends might predict the outbreak trend of COVID-19 in advance.
Ageusia ; Big Data ; COVID-19 ; Disease Outbreaks ; Humans ; Internet ; Retrospective Studies ; Smell ; United States

Humans ; Taste/physiology* ; Dysgeusia ; Nose Diseases ; Nose

The authors report a case of post-tonsillectomy dysgeusia and discuss the pathogenesis, diagnostics, as well as treatment options done in several reported cases. A 37-year-old man who was diagnosed with recurrent tonsillitis underwent bilateral palatine tonsillectomy, and on the second post-operative day, post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage ensued which required emergency hemostasis at the operating room. Intra-operative findings include active bleeding on the left tongue base, wherein hemostasis was achieved via electrodissection. After the procedure, patient noted a disturbance to taste that persisted for several months. Dysgeusia is an unusual complication of tonsillectomy, occurring in 0.3% to 9% of cases.
Tonsillectomy ; dysgeusia

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Ten-day sequential therapy has been evaluated as the first line therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication but studies on sequential therapy as a second line therapy is lacking. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of 10-day sequential therapy and quadruple therapy as second line treatment for H. pylori eradication after failure of standard triple therapy. METHODS: Patients who did not respond to standard triple therapy for H. pylori eradication were assigned to either 10-day sequential or bismuth based quadruple therapy as second line treatment from January 2009 to December 2014 at Yeungnam University Medical Center. Post treatment H. pylori status was determined by rapid urease test, giemsa staining, or 13C-urea breath test. Eradication rate and side effects of both therapies were compared. RESULTS: A total of 158 H. pylori infected patients were included and 70 patients were treated by bismuth based quadruple therapy and 88 patients by 10-day sequential therapy. Age and sex were not significantly different between the two groups. Eradication rate was 84.3% (59/70) in quadruple group and 56.8% (50/88) in sequential group. Side effects occurred significantly higher in quadruple group than sequential group (27.1% vs. 11.4%, p=0.011). CONCLUSIONS: For second line H. pylori eradication after failure of standard triple therapy, bismuth based quadruple therapy showed significantly higher H. pylori eradication rate than 10-day sequential therapy. Further prospective studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of 10-day sequential therapy as a second line H. pylori eradication treatment.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/adverse effects/pharmacology/*therapeutic use ; Bismuth/adverse effects/pharmacology/*therapeutic use ; Diarrhea/etiology ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Helicobacter Infections/*drug therapy ; Helicobacter pylori/drug effects ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Proton Pump Inhibitors/adverse effects/pharmacology/therapeutic use ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Taste Disorders/etiology ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

No abstract available.
Ageusia* ; Humans ; Myasthenia Gravis* ; Thymoma

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to compare the gustatory function between age-matched men and women in Korean subjects. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Healthy non-smoking volunteers without smell and taste disorders were investigated. Thirty-nine men and women of the same age group were evaluated for gustatory function. Whole mouth taste test was performed with successive solutions of sucrose, sodium chloride, citric acid, and quinine hydrochloride. The electrical taste thresholds were measured using an electrogustometer for four different sites in the oral cavity, i.e., both sides of anterior and posterior tongue. RESULTS: Female subjects had lower mean values of detection and recognition thresholds for all of the four tastes than male subjects, although these results did not reach statistical significance except for the detection threshold for salt and the recognition threshold for quinine. In electrogustometry, thresholds in the posterior tongue of glossopharyngeal nerve area were significantly higher for men than women. CONCLUSION: Men had higher taste threshold than women of the same age category. For additional information on the effects of gender and aging on taste thresholds, further studies including a large number of well-controlled subjects are essential.
Aging ; Citric Acid ; Female ; Glossopharyngeal Nerve ; Humans ; Male ; Mouth ; Quinine ; Smell ; Sodium Chloride ; Sucrose ; Taste Disorders ; Taste Threshold* ; Tongue ; Volunteers

Cronkhite-Canada syndrome (CCS) is a rare, noninherited gastrointestinal polyposis syndrome associated with ectodermal changes such as alopecia, nail dystrophy, and cutaneous hyperpigmentation. The etiology and pathogenesis of CCS are not known, but diarrhea, malnutrition, gastrointestinal bleeding, and infection may occur in the affected patient; moreover, this condition could be fatal. However, previous reports have described several cases of spontaneous remission. We report a 60-year-old man who was incidentally found to have colonic polyposis, alopecia, and hypogeusia and was diagnosed to have CCS. However, this patient experienced spontaneous remission, including regrowth of body hair and alleviation of bowel inflammation, without any specific medications such as steroids, antibiotics, or proton pump inhibitors.
Ageusia ; Alopecia ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Colon ; Diarrhea ; Ectoderm ; Hair ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hyperpigmentation ; Inflammation ; Intestinal Polyposis* ; Malnutrition ; Middle Aged ; Nails ; Proton Pump Inhibitors ; Remission, Spontaneous* ; Steroids