New Onset of Smell and Taste Loss Are Common Findings Also in Patients With Symptomatic COVID-19 After Complete Vaccination

TY - JOUR

T1 - New Onset of Smell and Taste Loss Are Common Findings Also in Patients With Symptomatic COVID-19 After Complete Vaccination

AU - Vaira, Luigi A.

AU - De Vito, Andrea

AU - Lechien, Jerome R.

AU - Chiesa-Estomba, Carlos M.

AU - Mayo-Yàñez, Miguel

AU - Calvo-Henrìquez, Christian

AU - Saussez, Sven

AU - Madeddu, Giordano

AU - Babudieri, Sergio

AU - Boscolo-Rizzo, Paolo

AU - Hopkins, Claire

AU - De Riu, Giacomo

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

PY - 2022/2

Y1 - 2022/2

N2 - The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical profile of patients who developed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after full vaccination. Demographic, epidemiological and clinical data were collected through medical records and online patient-reported outcome questionnaire from patients who developed symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, confirmed by nasopharyngeal swab, at least 2 weeks after completion of vaccination. A total of 153 subjects were included. The most frequent symptoms were: asthenia (82.4%), chemosensory dysfunction (63.4%), headache (59.5%), runny nose (58.2%), muscle pain (54.9%), loss of appetite (54.3%), and nasal obstruction (51.6%). Particularly, 62.3% and 53.6% of subjects reported olfactory and gustatory dysfunction, respectively. Symptom severity was mild or moderate in almost all cases. Chemosensory dysfunctions have been observed to be a frequent symptom even in subjects who contracted the infection after full vaccination. For this reason, the sudden loss of smell and taste could continue to represent a useful and specific diagnostic marker to raise the suspicion of COVID-19 even in vaccinated subjects. In the future, it will be necessary to establish what the recovery rate is in these patients. Level of Evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 2021.

AB - The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical profile of patients who developed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after full vaccination. Demographic, epidemiological and clinical data were collected through medical records and online patient-reported outcome questionnaire from patients who developed symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, confirmed by nasopharyngeal swab, at least 2 weeks after completion of vaccination. A total of 153 subjects were included. The most frequent symptoms were: asthenia (82.4%), chemosensory dysfunction (63.4%), headache (59.5%), runny nose (58.2%), muscle pain (54.9%), loss of appetite (54.3%), and nasal obstruction (51.6%). Particularly, 62.3% and 53.6% of subjects reported olfactory and gustatory dysfunction, respectively. Symptom severity was mild or moderate in almost all cases. Chemosensory dysfunctions have been observed to be a frequent symptom even in subjects who contracted the infection after full vaccination. For this reason, the sudden loss of smell and taste could continue to represent a useful and specific diagnostic marker to raise the suspicion of COVID-19 even in vaccinated subjects. In the future, it will be necessary to establish what the recovery rate is in these patients. Level of Evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 2021.

KW - ageusia

KW - anosmia

KW - COVID-19

KW - gustatory dysfunction

KW - olfactory dysfunction

KW - vaccination

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119831536&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/lary.29964

DO - 10.1002/lary.29964

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85119831536

SN - 0023-852X

VL - 132

SP - 419

EP - 421

JO - Laryngoscope

JF - Laryngoscope

IS - 2

ER -