• Wang-Huei Sheng, Wang-Da Liu, Jann-Tay Wang, Su-Yuan Chang, and Shan-Chwen Chang.
• Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan; School of Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei City, Taiwan.
• J Formos Med Assoc. 2021 Jan 1; 120 (1 Pt 2): 311-317.

Background/PurposeTo investigate the characteristics of dysosmia and dysgeusia among patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Taiwan.MethodsProspective data collection between January 22, 2020 to May 7, 2020 of nucleic acid confirmed COVID-19 hospitalized patients in northern Taiwan by the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control were analyzed.ResultsOf 217 patients enrolled, 78 (35.9%) reported dysosmia (n = 73, 33.6%) and/or dysgeusia (n = 62, 28.6%). The median duration of COVID-19 associated symptom-onset to development of dysosmia and/or dysgeusia was <1 days (interquartile range [IQR], <1-6 days) and 53 of 78 (67.9%) patients developed dysosmia and/or dysgeusia as one of the initial symptoms of COVID-19. Of 59 closely monitored patients, 41 (69.5%) patients recovered within 3 weeks after symptoms onset and the median time to recovery was 12 days (IQR, 7-20 days). Only 6 of the 59 (10.2%) patients reported persistent dysosmia and/or dysgeusia before discharge from hospitals. Multivariate analysis showed that younger individuals (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 0.93 per one-year increase; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.89-0.97; P = 0.001), women (AHR, 2.76; 95% CI, 1.05-7.25; P = 0.04) and travel to North America (AHR, 2.35; 95% CI, 1.05-5.26; P = 0.04) were the significant factors associated with dysosmia and/or dysgeusia.ConclusionDysosmia and/or dysgeusia are common symptoms and clues for the diagnosis of COVID-19, particularly in the early stage of the disease. Physicians should be alerted to these symptoms to make timely diagnosis and management for COVID-19 to limit spread.Copyright © 2020 Formosan Medical Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

27 keywords...

hide…