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Medica Jadertina, Vol. 52 No. Suplement 1, 2022.

Meeting abstract

Olfactory disorders during SARS-CoV-2 infection

Neven Skitarelić orcid id orcid.org/0000-0001-9491-1072 ; University of Zadar, Department of Health study; University of Rijeka, Medicine faculty; Zadar general hospital, Zadar
Nataša Skitarelić orcid id orcid.org/0000-0002-7155-8648 ; University of Zadar, Department of health study; Zadar general hospital, zadar

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Abstract

At the end of 2019 in Wuhan, China, a novel coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona
virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was considered as the cause of some lower respiratory tract infections. On February
11th 2020, the new disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus was officially termed “COVID-19” by the WHO.
Transmission from person to person occurs mainly by direct contact or droplets spread by coughing or sneezing
by an infected individual with SARS-CoV-2. The most common symptoms are fever, cough, fatigue, headache,
and dyspnea. In the most severe cases, patients may develop pneumonia, acute respiratory failure, distress
syndrome, and acute heart problems. The most common ENT symptoms are cough, anosmia/hyposmia, sore
throat, ageusia, nasal congestion, runny nose, postnasal discharge, hoarseness, otalgia, tinnitus, gingivitis,
Bell’s palsy, and sudden hearing loss. Literature data showed that olfactory disorders were found in 35% to
84.6% of patients. From March to November 2021, in Zadar General Hospital 2582 patients were hospitalized
with SARS-CoV-2 virus infection. Anosmia/hyposmia was found in 1110 (43%) patients. In most patients
with olfactory disturbances after fourteen days, the epithelium showed signs of recovery, but it had not yet
returned to normal. The infection made desquamation of the olfactory epithelium and the preference for the
virus for sustentacular cells rather than neuronal cells and the intense recruitment of immune cells. Damage to
sustentacular cells and Bowman cells directly affects the perception of odors, not by the transmission of the
virus to olfactory receptor neurons but by impairing some of its functions that are necessary for the functional
metabolism of these neurons. Damage to Bowman cells would cause an interruption in the production of nasal
mucus, necessary for the dissolution of odorous particles.

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2 infection; olfaction disorders; smell

Hrčak ID:

272971

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/272971

Publication date:

27.2.2022.

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