Altered Sense of Smell or Taste Reported by 60% of Covid-19 Patients: Study



Study finds further evidence that Covid-19 can alter patients’ sense of smell and taste

By Kam Kompani,

April 26, 2020

The researchers asked mildly symptomatic outpatients whether they had experienced a sudden altered sense of smell or taste.

Out of the 202 Italian patients surveyed, 64% reported having experienced an altered sense of smell or taste in the two weeks prior to getting tested.

Among all patients, almost half lost their sense of smell or taste either at the same time as other symptoms appeared or soon after. Just over 10% indicated that they started to lose their sense of taste or smell before displaying any other symptom.

The survey also revealed differences between sexes. More women (72%) compared to men (56%) reported having experienced changes in their sense of smell or taste.

Other common symptoms reported by patients were fatigue (68.3%), dry cough (60.4%), and fever (55.5%).



34% of patients whose sense of smell or taste had altered also reported a blocked nose. (Image by Hank Williams, Pixabay)

Only one study had previously evaluated the prevalence of smell and taste disturbance in hospitalized Covid-19 patients, according to the authors. The study had found “an overall prevalence of 34% but without data on timing of onset in relation to other symptoms.”

Earlier this month, CNN covered an analysis from South Korea which had shown that 30% of patients had lost their sense of smell or taste.

CDC Triples List of Coronavirus Symptoms — Adds Loss of Taste or Smell

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has tripled its list of coronavirus symptoms to 9, and now includes muscle pain, headache, and loss of taste or smell.

The New York Post also reported that doctors and researchers are studying other symptoms found in some patients, including “COVID toes”.



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“Covid toes” first appeared in the media when the General Council of Official Colleges of Podiatrists in Spain announced in a press release that podiatrists had seen “numerous cases of sick people, mainly children and young people, who had small dermatological lesions on their feet”.

Characteristics of Hospitalized Covid-19 Patients in New York and California

Last week, the JAMA Network also published two other studies that highlighted common characteristics among hospitalized coronavirus patients in New York City and in California.

In New York, researchers assessed 5,700 patients (median age, 63 years) who had been hospitalized across 12 New York City area hospitals. More than half were shown to have hypertension (high blood pressure), around 40% were obese, and 33% were diabetic.

In California, researchers reported on hospitalization admissions from Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC), a regional integrated health care system serving 4.4 million people.



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A total of 16,000 people have been tested by KPNC. Almost 1,300 were found to have contracted the coronavirus, from which 377 were treated as inpatients and 133 in the ICU. The remaining 70% of patients were treated in the general ward or in the intermediate care unit.

Out of the 377 hospitalized patients, 164 (43.5%) had high blood pressure.



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Study: Spinato, G. et al (2020). Alterations in Smell or Taste in Mildly Symptomatic Outpatients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection. The Jama Network.