ArticlePloS one2022
Subjective and psychophysical olfactory and gustatory dysfunction among COVID-19 outpatients; short- and long-term results.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Association between Objective and Subjective Olfactory Dysfunction in SARS-CoV-2-Positive Patients Undergoing Skull Base Surgery.Journal of neurological surgery. Part B, Skull base · 2026Article
- Subjective and Objective Assessments of Olfactory Function in Patients Taking Anti-obesity Medications.Clinical and experimental otorhinolaryngology · 2026Article
- Gene Variants Associated With Individual Sensitivity for Taste Changes After the COVID-19 Infection.BioMed research international · 2026Article
- Correction: Subjective and psychophysical olfactory and gustatory dysfunction among COVID-19 outpatients; short- and long-term results.PloS one · 2025Article
- Long-Term Taste and Smell Outcomes After COVID-19.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Subjective versus Psychophysical Measures of Chemosensory Alterations following COVID-19.ORL; journal for oto-rhino-laryngology and its related specialties · 2024Article
- Using SCENTinel® to predict SARS-CoV-2 infection: insights from a community sample during dominance of Delta and Omicron variants.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Integrating the patient's voice into the research agenda for treatment of chemosensory disorders.Chemical senses · 2024Article
- A case of olfactory neuroblastoma that presented with olfactory dysfunction after a COVID-19 diagnosis.Heliyon · 2023Article
- The Correlation between the Results of the Sniffin' Sticks Test, Demographic Data, and Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders in a Hungarian Population after a SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Prevalence of Olfactory Dysfunction with the Omicron Variant of SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023Article
- Head-to-Head Comparison of Nasopharyngeal, Oropharyngeal and Nasal Swabs for SARS-CoV-2 Molecular Testing.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Camera-based visual feedback learning aid for recovering sense of smell and taste in COVID-19 survivors: a proof-of-concept study.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOlfactory and gustatory dysfunctions are early symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Between 20-80% of infected individuals report subjective altered sense of smell and/or taste during infection. Up to 2/3 of previously infected experience persistent olfactory and/or gustatory dysfunction after 6 months. The aim of this study was to examine subjective and psychophysical olfactory and gustatory function in non-hospitalized individuals with acute COVID-19 up to 6 months after infection.
methodsIndividuals aged 18-80-years with a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test no older than 10 days, were eligible. Only individuals able to visit the outpatient examination facilities were included. Gustatory function was tested with the Burgharts Taste Strips and olfactory function was examined with the Brief Smell Identifications test (Danish version). Subjective symptoms were examined through an online questionnaire at inclusion, day 30, 90 and 180 after inclusion.
resultsFifty-eight SARS-CoV-2 positive and 56 negative controls were included. 58.6% (34/58) of SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals vs. 8.9% (5/56) of negative controls reported subjective olfactory dysfunction at inclusion. For gustatory dysfunction, 46.5% (27/58) of positive individuals reported impairment compared to 8.9% (5/56) of negative controls. In psychophysical tests, 75.9% (46/58) had olfactory dysfunction and 43.1% (25/58) had gustatory dysfunction among the SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals at inclusion. Compared to negative controls, SARS-CoV-2 infected had significantly reduced olfaction and gustation. Previously infected individuals continued to report lower subjective sense of smell 30 days after inclusion, whereafter the difference between the groups diminished. However, after 180 days, 20.7% (12/58) positive individuals still reported reduced sense of smell and taste.
conclusionOlfactory and gustatory dysfunctions are prevalent symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, but there is inconsistency between subjective reporting and psychophysical test assessment of especially olfaction. Most individuals regain normal function after 30 days, but approximately 20% report persistent olfactory and gustatory dysfunction 6 months after infection.
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