Word War COVID-19: The Olfactory and Gustatory Theater of Operations (AMW)
2021 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO Experience
A multidisciplinary, integrative review of the literature analyzing post-viral impairment on the olfactory and gustatory system from the coronavirus will be presented. This course will review the association between olfactory impairment and infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus two (SARS-CoV-2), summarize the potential biological pathways, synthesize, and contextualize histologic evidence from autopsy studies suggesting intracranial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from the nasal cavity, and speculate on the utility of this symptom for predicting subsequent neurological disorders. The course will also provide a broad snapshot of the current state of understanding of olfactory dysfunction resulting from head trauma, neurodegenerative disease, conductive disorders, etc. Otolaryngology is at the forefront for detecting and managing olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. Hence, the ability to connect the dots between the dynamics of viral tropism and clinical symptoms across diverse patient populations will allow a holistic understanding of COVID-19 pathophysiology. This approach is particularly important because SARS-CoV-2 is an emerging infectious disease, with a case definition that is continuously evolving and inconsistently applied among caregivers.
Credits
CME:1.0, MOC:1.0