PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY OF THE OLFACTORY NERVE IN COVID-19

Sudden anosmia and/or ageusia is one of the first and significant symptoms of COVID-19, which are manifested in good health and a successful course of the disease. Purpose: to analyze neurological disorders in COVID-19 and present the results of peripheral neuropathy of the olfactory nerve. We present the results of 39 (32 %) patients with olfactory dysfunction obtained among 121 patients with a positive RT-PCR test for COVID-19. The data was collected through a sur-vey and questionnaire based on the AAO-HNS anosmia reporting tool. The majority of individuals (32 patients) did not have close contact with a positive case in the recent past. Most patients regained their sense of smell within 1-2 weeks of the onset of anosmia. To date, the mechanisms of anosmia in SARS-CoV-2 are not yet clear. It remains debatable whether anosmias are the result of nerve damage or inflammation of the olfactory nerves, which requires further research. Key words: anosmia, loss of smell, dysgeusia, neuroinflammation, olfactory dysfunction, SARS-COV-2, COVID-19.