Abstract
Background: Increasing authentication suggests that olfactory disorder is a prominent symptom of COVID-19 with the inadequacy of data on its recovery patterns in the Middle East.Aim of the study: The primary aim is to identify the different recovery patterns in patients with olfactory dysfunction due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq. While in the second aim, we assess the correlation of olfactory dysfunction to age, gender, and comorbidities.Patients and methods: This online cross-sectional study was conducted at Al-Jumhory teaching hospital, Mosul, Iraq, for a period from January/2021 up to January/2022. This study was done by answering responses using the website online questionnaire and not directly from the patients. After the exclusion of incomplete responses, this study involved 637 patients who were older than 18 years. We included patients with COVID-19 infection which was proved by positive polymerase chain reaction associated with the new-onset olfactory disorder.Results: The current study portrays that 50.9% have a complete recovery, 35.9% with partial recovery, and 13.2% of patients did not recover olfactory function. Earlier recovery (less than 3 weeks) is associated with complete recovery, while later recovery is associated with partial recovery. In the first three weeks, 75.3% and 45.9% of complete and partial recovery occurred respectively.Conclusions: This study declares that most of the participants documented complete recovery of olfactory disorders in the first three weeks following infection. The recovery was not related to age, gender, and comorbidities.
