Pediatric COVID-19: Prolonged olfactory and gustatory disorders

Objective: Our aim is to support the literature by evaluating pediatric cases with taste and smell disorders related to COVID-19. Methods: The patients admitted between November 2020 – November 2021 due to quantitative and/or qualitative sense of smell and taste were included to the study. The course of sensory disorders of the patients were gathered from the medical files and evaluated retrospectively. Results: Fifteen patients were applied for taste and/or smell disorders with or without a history of symptomatic COVID-19 infection. All of the cases (100 %) had anosmia and 14 (93.3 %) had ageusia. Parosmia was present in all 15 cases (100 %) whereas phantosmia in 13 cases (86.6 %). Eight cases (53.3 %) had both phantogeusia and parageusia. Complete resolution of anosmia and ageusia continue average 24.7 ± 14.5 and 19.6 ± 8.4 days. One of the 15 patients with parosmia recovered at the end of the 13th month, while the parosmia continued for 8.9 ± 2.9 months in the other patients. Complaints of phantosmia had been continued for 9.4 ± 3.0 months in all of 13 patients and phantogusia for 8.6 ± 2.7 months in all of 8 patients. Parageusia improved in one case at the 10th month, while it continued for 8.1 ± 2.8 months in the remaining 8 cases. Conclusion: There is not enough data in the literature about the sensory disorders related to childhood COVID-19 infection. It is the first study having longest follow-up periods of sensory disorders in pediatric patients in the literature
Keywords: COVID-19, Olfactory Dysfunction, Gustatory Dysfunction