COVID Long-Haulers: Update on Chronic Smell Loss (2022 AMW)
2022 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO Experience
Complete or partial smell loss is one of the defining characteristics of COVID-19 infection. Although the majority of patients regain their sense of smell within weeks, many still suffer from smell and taste disturbances months after resolution of their initial infection. Due to the sheer number of COVID-19 infections over the past 2 years, this results in a large patient population - both adults and children - seeking care for their smell and taste issues by an otolaryngologist. Although postviral olfactory dysfunction (PVOD) is something we have always understood and treated as otolaryngologists, it is important to understand the differences between the pathophysiology, prevalence, recovery rates, and outcomes of COVID-19 olfactory dysfunction and other types of PVOD, and even more important to understand how to evaluate and treat these patients.
Credits
CME:1.0, MOC:1.0