Olfactory and Gustatory Disturbances as a Clinical Presentation of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Infection in Malaysia - A Nationwide Multicentre Cross-Sectional Study

The world is currently in the midst of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that is caused by a novel coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). According to published cohort studies on COVID-19 infected patients, the most prevalent symptoms consist of fever, dry cough, dyspnoea, sputum production, myalgia, arthralgia, headache, diarrhoea, and sore throat. Recently, there have been concerns of significant viral transmission through asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic or even mildly symptomatic patients.

There is increasing anecdotal evidence from patients and healthcare professionals highlighting isolated loss of sense of smell (anosmia) and taste disturbances (dysgeusia) as atypical symptoms of COVID-19 infection in otherwise asymptomatic patients. In parallel, expert statements from the British Association of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery (ENT UK), British Rhinological Society, and the American Association of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) have suggested that olfactory and taste disturbances could be a clinical feature of COVID-19 infection.

Rapidly emerging evidence from Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States have found olfactory and taste disturbances to be highly prevalent in patients diagnosed with COVID-19. In contrast, there is currently limited evidence from Asia on the prevalence of these symptoms in COVID-19 infection.

The aim of this cross-sectional study is to study the prevalence and characteristics of olfactory and taste disturbance in patients with COVID-19 infection in Malaysia. COVID-19 positive patients will be recruited from participating Malaysian Ministry of Health-designated COVID-19 treating hospitals across the country. Participants will answer an online questionnaire to evaluate and characterise these symptoms.