Quality of Life Among SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Positive Patients with Anosmia Using the Short Version Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders - Negative Statements Translated in Filipino (sQOD-NS Ph)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the quality of life among SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) positive patients with anosmia using the Short Version Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders - Negative Statements translated in Filipino (sQOD-NS Ph). Methods: Design: Cross-Sectional Study Setting: Tertiary Government Training Hospital Participants: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) RT-PCR positive patients aged 18 years old and above with COVID-19 symptoms and anosmia in a tertiary government hospital who consulted from March 2020 to August 2021 answered the short version of sQOD-NS Ph. Results: Out of 108 participants with positive SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) RT-PCR test, 72 (66%) presented with anosmia, and sQOD-NS Ph scores ranged from 1 to 21 with a mean of 14.78. Thirty two (44%) encountered problems in eating while 21 (29%) had feelings of isolation due to loss of smell. There was an inverse correlation of -0.478 between recovery time of olfaction and QoL score, hence the longer the recovery time, the lower the QoL score, while the shorter the recovery time, the higher the QoL score (p < .0001). Conclusion: Majority of COVID-19 patients with anosmia had mild or negligible impairment, while a small percentage had impaired quality of life. The low percentage may be due to high number of patients who may have recovered their sense of smell along the course of the disease.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• olfaction
• anosmia
• quality of life
• QOD-NS
• smell