Post-viral dysosmia: therapeutic and diagnostic principles

Abstract

Violation of the sense of smell until recently did not belong to the most urgent problems of medicine. However, with the advent of the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the interest of researchers and clinicians in olfactory dysfunction has increased many times around the world, which is explained by the highest incidence of dysosmia in COVID-19 – up to 50% of the total number of cases. According to the European consensus documents on rhinosinusitis and nasal polyposis, impaired sense of smell along with difficulty in nasal breathing, abnormal nasal discharge and headache are among the most common subjective signs of acute rhinosinusitis. According to expert estimates, the frequency of olfactory dysfunction in such patients reaches 14-30%. More than 80% of patients with acute sinusitis indicate a concomitant olfactory disorder. It usually recovers on average within two weeks from the onset of the disease. Dysosmia in patients of this group in 60-80% of cases is not accompanied by destruction of the olfactory epithelium, but is associated with edema of the mucous membrane and hypersecretion of mucus, which leads to the closure of the lumen of the narrow olfactory fissure. As part of this work, from June 2020 to December 2021, 32 patients aged 29 to 52 years (21 men and 11 women) without neurological diseases with postviral anosmia were under observation. Complaints about the complete lack of smell, discomfort in the root of the nose, nasality and the results of subjective olfactometry made it possible to establish the diagnosis of conductive anosmia in all patients. The patients received antibacterial therapy with a semi-synthetic third-generation cephalosporin antibiotic. In addition, the course of outpatient treatment included anemization of the upper sections of the nasal mucosa and physiotherapy. All patients tolerated the treatment well, no side effects were recorded. After a week, all patients noted an improvement in nasal breathing, the disappearance of nasality, and an improvement in the sense of smell. In the future, patients were recommended to independently conduct olfactory training for 3-4 months: inhalation of essential oils of rose, eucalyptus, lemon, clove, jasmine, orange and coffee.