Frequency of anosmia within neurological symptoms in long/ post COVID and impact on quality of life

Abstract

Objectives: Anosmia is one of the most common neurological symptoms of COVID-19, which causes deterioration in quality of life. In this study, it was aimed to examine the frequency of long-term anosmia in and its effects on quality of life in patients with the COVID-19. Methods: A total of 266 (103 male, 163 female) patients aged 18 years and older, whose diagnosis was confirmed by PCR test, were included in the study. The Notthingham Health Profile (NHP) was used to measure quality of life. Results: Forty-six (17.3%) of the participants did not have any complaints. Anosmia was not present in 76 (34.5%) of 220 (82.7%) participants with complaints, was present only in acute disease in 111 (50.5%) and was seen to continue in the long-COVID-19 period in 33 (15%) participants. The NHP pain, physical activity, and energy subscale scores of those who reported experiencing anosmia were higher than those who did not. NHP pain and emotional reaction subscale scores of those who experienced anosmia during the acute illness period were lower than those who continued in the long-COVID-19 period. Conclusion: Prolonged anosmia has been detected at a high rate in COVID-19 patients. Although anosmia is less important in neurological findings since it is not life-threatening, it continues in the long-COVID period and negatively affects the quality of life of patients

Keywords

• long-COVID-19
• anosmia
• quality of life

Long/post COVID’de anosminin nörolojik semptomlar içindeki sıklığı ve yaşam kalitesine etkisi

Abstract

Amaç: Anosmi, yaşam kalitesinde bozulmalara sebep olan ve Corona virüs hastalığı 2019 (COVID-19)’lu hastalarda görülen nörolojik semptomlar arasında en sık gözlenenlerden biridir. Bu çalışmada COVID-19 olan hastalarda uzun dönemde anosminin sıklığının ve yaşam kalitesi üzerindeki etkilerinin incelenmesi amaçlamıştır. Yöntem: Çalışmaya tanıları polimeraz zincir reaksiyonu (PCR) testi ile teyit edilmiş 18 yaş ve üzeri 266 (103’ü erkek, 163’ü kadın) hasta dahil edilmiştir. Yaşam kalitesini ölçmek için Notthingham Sağlık Profili (NSP) kullanılmıştır. Bulgular: Katılımcıların 46’sının (%17.3) hiçbir şikayetleri olmamıştır. Koku kaybı şikayeti 220 katılımcıdan (%82.7) 76’sında (%34.5) hiç olmamış, 111’inde (%50.5) sadece akut hastalıkta, 33’ünde (%15.0) ise uzamış COVID-19 döneminde de devam edecek şekilde görülmüştür. Koku kaybı yaşadığını bildirenlerin NSP ağrı, fiziksel aktivite ve enerji alt ölçek ortalama skorları koku kaybı yaşamamış olanlardan daha yüksektir. Akut hastalık döneminde koku kaybı yaşayıp takiplerinde iyileşenlerin NSP ağrı, duygusal reaksiyon alt ölçek ortalama skorları uzamış COVID-19 döneminde devam edenlerden daha düşüktür. Sonuç: COVID-19 hastalarında uzamış anosmi yüksek oranda saptanmıştır. Anosmi, yaşamı tehdit etmediği için nörolojik bulgular içinde daha az önemsenmiş olmasına rağmen uzamış COVID-19 döneminde de devam etmekte ve hastaların yaşam kalitesini olumsuz etkilemektedir.

Keywords

• uzamış COVID-19
• anosmi
• yaşam kalitesi
• long-COVID-19
• anosmia
• quality of life

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