• Erdal Sakalli, Dastan Temirbekov, Esra Bayri, Esra Ergun Alis, Selcuk Cem Erdurak, and Mesut Bayraktaroglu.
• Istanbul Aydin University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Istanbul, Turkey. Electronic address: erdalkbb1979@hotmail.com.
• Am J Otolaryngol. 2020 Nov 1; 41 (6): 102622.

PurposeTo determine the frequency and severity of general and ear nose throat (ENT)- related symptoms, especially smell and/or loss of sense of taste (STL) in COVID-19 disease, as well as to investigate the recovery process of STL.Materials And MethodsPatients with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis were given a questionnaire consisting of general questions (age, sex, date of symptoms, smoking history, concomitant diseases), questions about the most obvious symptom at presentation (one option only), the severity and frequency of symptoms (general and ENT), and STL (recovery time and degree of recovery).ResultsThe study population consisted of 172 patients, 18-65 years old (mean age, 37.8 ± 12.5 years; 51.2% female; 76.2% nonsmokers). Cough (n = 30, 17.4%) and loss of sense of smell (n = 18, 10.4%) were the most obvious general and ENT symptoms, respectively. Eighty-eight patients (51.2%) reported loss of sense of smell, and 81 patients (47.1%) reported loss of sense of taste. The mean recovery times for loss of sense of smell and loss of sense of taste were 8.02 ± 6.41 and 8.20 ± 7.07 days, respectively. The loss of sense of smell and loss of sense of taste were the unique symptoms in four (4.54%) and one (1.23%) patients, respectively.ConclusionSTL is a common symptom in COVID-19 and may be the first and/or only symptom of this disease. In patients presenting with STL complaints, surveillance for possible COVID-19 disease and screening tests will facilitate the struggle against the disease.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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