Prevalencia de anosmia y disgeusia y su rol en el pronóstico de la COVID-19 en pacientes SARS-CoV-2 positivos atendidos en un hospital de segundo nivel.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of these symptoms in the Mexican population treated at the General Hospital no. 46 and to examine whether anosmia is related to a mild form of the disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out, extracting information from patients treated at the General Hospital no. 46 with a positive test for SARS-CoV-2, from June 2020 to September 2021. RESULTS: The sample included 8694 patients with a mean age of 49 years; 52.8% were men; 28.4% were classified as severe patients, with a predominance of males (p = 0.008). A prevalence of 10.6% of anosmia and 10.8% of dysgeusia was found. The relationship between the absence of anosmia and death as the cause of discharge was analyzed, considering sex a covariate. The results indicated that, in the case of men, the absence of anosmia was associated with a higher probability of death as a cause of hospital discharge. CONCLUSIONS: This inverse association between anosmia and mortality could have important implications in the classification and management of patients. Therefore, it is essential to continue investigating this relationship through more multicenter studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]