Incidence of Hyposmia and Hypoguesia in COVID-19 Patients in Kirkuk
Author(s): Tunjai Namiq Faiq*, Ozdan Akram Ghareeb, Ahmed Abdulameer Ghaleb and Mohammed Sabeeh Salahaldeen
Abstract
Deficits in smell and/or taste are possible neurological manifestations of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). The study aims to determine the incidence of hyposmia and hypoguesia in patients infected with COVID-19 in Shifa-14 Hospital, Kirkuk, Iraq. Data for this study were taken from the patients' registries. The results showed that out of 117 patients, 73 (62.4%) had hyposmia or hypoguesia, or both. Most of the patients were males 71 (60.7%) with different age groups. The majority of patients was smokers 72 (61.5%) and had mild infection 61 (52.1 %). Men, smoking, and disease seriousness had a vastly significant association with hyposmia and hypoguesia. We concluded that lack of smell and taste was a common symptom of COVID-19. Males, smoking, and severe infection were risk factors hyposmia or hypoguesia in the COVID-19 cases.