Clinical Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in a Cohort of Iranian Patients: Olfactory Dysfunction as a Frequent Clinical Presentation

Abstract

Background: Since its outbreak, the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been associated with
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The full spectrum of disease severity of COVID-19 is still unknown.
In this study which is the first report from Iran, we showed that olfactory dysfunction is a frequent clinical
manifestation among COVID-19 patients.
Methods: All patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection were admitted to Arak hospitals in Iran. We
retrospectively collected and analyzed data on patients with either laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2
infection by real-time RT-PCR and/or chest CT
Results: Most patients in our cohort had mild COVID-19 (104 [60.4%] of 172) . Common symptoms at
the onset of disease included (subjective) fever (131 [76%] of 172 patients), cough (130 [75.5%]), myalgia
(107 [62%]) dyspnea (92 [53.5%]), chills (96 [55.8%]), and headache (94 [54.6%]). Olfactory dysfunction
(OD), including anosmia, hyposmia, hyperosmia, and dysosmia, were reported by 61 ([36.5%] of 167)
patients. The most common concurrent symptoms beside the olfactory dysfunctions, were fever (39 [69.6%]
of 56 patients) and chills (26 [46.4%]), respectively. For the most part, the patient’s condition worsened
after the notice of anosmia/dysgeusia (48 [85.7%] of 56 patients). The majority of anosmic patients were
recovered from COVID-19 (50 [89.3%] of 56 patients). The anosmia/dysgeusia was resolved in 42 [75%]
of 56 patients after two weeks.
Conclusion: Taken together, this study reports the disease spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a cohort of
172 Iranian adult patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report from Iran.