Smell disturbance among Saudi COVID-19 Patients

Abstract

Objectives: Recently, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, and since then, many studies have examined its symptomatology. In this study, we aimed to focus on Saudi patients with COVID-19 who also experienced smell dysfunction. We hypothesized that there would be a high percentage of COVID-19 patients with smell dysfunction in the Saudi population. Methodology: A quantitative, observational, cross-sectional study was carried out in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in August 2020 and was designed to assess anosmia and hyposmia in Saudi patients with a positive COVID-19 test. Only Saudi adults with confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled in the study. We distributed an electronic, self-administered questionnaire through social media platforms, and personal contact to query the patients who had a positive COVID-19 test. Results: The study included 1005 patients, of whom 63.5% were female. More than three quarters (76.7%) were between the ages of 18 and 38 years. Most of them (74.1%) were healthy, while some of them (25%) reported associated comorbidities. Overall, approximately three-quarters (72%) of the participants developed smell dysfunction during the infection period, with (17.3%) experiencing a partial loss of smell (hyposmia), and (54%) experiencing a complete loss of smell (anosmia). Conclusions: Our study revealed that approximately three-quarters (72%) of the participants with COVID-19 developed smell dysfunction during the infection period, which supports our hypothesis.