Otorhinolaryngological symptoms in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 - single-medical-center study in Serbia

Introduction/Objective. The infectious condition named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was caused by coronavirus2 (SARS-Cov-2). Patients with COVID-19 disease may have symptoms which can range from mild to severe clinical condition. The aim of this study was to observe and analyze the presence of otorhinolaryngology symptoms in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 disease. Methods. The descriptive clinical study analyzed data from medical records in 230 hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 pneumonia at Zvezdara Clinical Hospital Center, Belgrade, Serbia. Otorhinolaryngology symptoms as well as generalized COVID-19 related symptoms were analyzed from medical records during the year 2021. SARS-CoV-2 virus infection was previously confirmed in all patients with positive polymerase chain reaction test and/or rapid antigen test. Results. The mean age of 230 patients included in this study was 64 years. The most common general symptoms were cough 72%, fever 52%, dyspnea 46%, malaise 46% while to a lesser extent were observed myalgia 19%, vomitus 3%, and diarrhea 3%. The distribution of otorhinolaryngological symptoms showed that the most frequent symptom was anosmia 22%, while the throat pain was present in 20% and ageusia in 19% of patients. The otorhinolaryngological symptoms which were present in lower frequencies were headache in 16% of patients, tinnitus in 6%, vertigo in 5%, and hearing loss in 3% of patients. Comorbidities were observed more often in patients older than 50 years. Hypertension was the most common chronic disease in 60%, followed by diabetes in 23%, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 7%, malignancy in 7%, hypothyroidism in 6%, and renal disease in 4% of patients. Conclusion. Otorhinolaryngological conditions that should be the subject of further post COVID survey are prolonged anosmia, ageusia or hypogeusia, auditory dysfunction and vertiginous complaints.