• Paolo Boscolo-Rizzo, Daniele Borsetto, Giacomo Spinato, Cristoforo Fabbris, Anna Menegaldo, Piergiorgio Gaudioso, Piero Nicolai, Giancarlo Tirelli, Maria Cristina Da Mosto, Roberto Rigoli, Jerry Polesel, and Claire Hopkins.
• Section of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Padova, Treviso, Italy.
• Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2020 Sep 1; 277 (9): 2637-2640.

PurposeTo estimate the prevalence of smell or taste impairment in household contacts of mildly symptomatic home-isolated SARS-CoV-2-positive patients.MethodsCross-sectional study based on ad hoc questions.ResultsOf 214 mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients managed at home under self-isolation, 179 reported to have at least one household contact, with the total number of no study participants contacts being 296. Among 175 household contacts not tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection, 67 (38.3%) had SARS-CoV-2 compatible symptoms, 39 (22.3%) had loss of smell or taste with 7 (4.0%) having loss of smell or taste in the absence of other symptoms. The prevalence of smell or taste impairment was 1.5% in patients tested negative compared to 63.0% of those tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (p < 0.001).ConclusionSmell or taste impairment are quite common in not-tested household contacts of mildly symptomatic home-isolated SARS-CoV-2-positive patients. This should be taken into account when estimating the burden of loss of sense of smell and taste during COVID-19 pandemic, and further highlights the value of loss of sense of smell and taste as a marker of infection.

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