“Dr Charlotte Hautefort, ENT specialist at Lariboisière, and Pr Dominique Salmon at Pitié, have reported a surge in consultations for sudden, severe anosmia without nasal obstruction, with very bothersome loss of taste, either isolated or with classic COVID symptoms, or sometimes simple rhinitis;
On DOCADOC ORL (4,000 private-practice and hospital ENT specialists), the ENT specialists have all seen one or more patients with this exceptional symptom (usually treated with 8 days of corticosteroid therapy)
It seems extremely common, according to initial feedback
Can occupational health departments and emergency call centers (SAMU) be informed quickly (on one hand, that usual corticosteroids are contraindicated for this normally rare condition; on the other, that it is a major diagnostic criterion in this context). ENT specialists are starting to learn this thanks to Docadoc, but general practitioners are not yet aware.
Dominique Salmon and Charlotte Hautefort plan to distribute this very widely once they have completed their series on anosmia with positive tests, probably tomorrow, but this is already a 24-hour head start in spotting mild forms
The presence of sudden, complete ANOSMIA WITHOUT NASAL OBSTRUCTION, with a very bothersome, complete loss of taste, makes a COVID diagnosis almost certain. It may be isolated or accompanied by minor symptoms (rhinitis, with or without low-grade fever)
This usually very rare reason for consultation is surging among private-practice ENT specialists and general practitioners
3 key points =
– Do not treat with inhaled or oral corticosteroids (as is usually done for this type of anosmia)
– Always look for this symptom in a suspected case >> it confirms the diagnosis if there is no nasal obstruction and if the sense of taste has disappeared
– These appear to be mostly mild forms (but also seem fairly common in severe forms when the symptom is specifically looked for; this needs to be assessed, with no change to the current course of action)”
