A Study on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Aetiology of Paediatric Olfactory Dysfunction

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Contributors

Abstract

Introduction: Although previous studies have examined olfactory dysfunction in children, the novel coronavirus SARSCoV- 2 has certainly had an unprecedented effect on their olfaction, which could not be taken into consideration. The aim of this report was to present data on the epidemiology of olfactory dysfunction during the pandemic and compare this dataset with a pre-pandemic set. We hypothesized an increase in URTIrelated olfactory dysfunction. Methods: Data of paediatric patients consulting a smell and taste clinic between March 2020 and June 2022 were retrospectively analysed. The frequency of major causes of olfactory dysfunction was examined and compared with three subsets of an older dataset. Results: A total of 52 patients were included in the analysis. Most children presented with olfactory dysfunction due to upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) (52%). Congenital olfactory dysfunction was present in 34% of cases. Sinonasal disorders and idiopathic cases accounted for 6 and 4%, respectively, whereas head trauma was the least common cause (2%). This was in contrast with the results of the older set. The frequency of URTI-related olfactory dysfunction increased significantly. The frequency of head-trauma-related or congenital olfactory dysfunction showed marked reductions. There were no significant differences regarding the other aetiologies between our patient cohort and the three subsets. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in differences regarding the prevalence of aetiologies between our dataset and the subsets of prepandemic times. The surge of the frequency of URTI-related olfactory dysfunction may be ascribed to a novel pathomechanism involving sustentacular cells in the olfactory epithelium.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)65-72
Number of pages8
JournalORL
Volume86
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 38621374
ORCID /0000-0001-9713-0183/work/163295247

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Children, Epidemiology of olfactory dysfunction, Olfactory dysfunction, SARS-CoV-2, Smell loss, Pandemics, Humans, Olfaction Disorders/epidemiology, Child, Preschool, Male, Infant, Respiratory Tract Infections/epidemiology, COVID-19/epidemiology, Adolescent, Female, Retrospective Studies, Child