The SARS-CoV-2 virus contributes to disorders of the sense of smell, taste and vision by attacking many important structures in human body

Abstract

Introduction. The SARS-CoV-2 virus contributes to disorders of the sense of smell, taste and vision by attacking many important structures in human body. Aim of the study The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a relationship between COVID-19 infection and disorders of the sense of smell, taste and vision. Material and methods The study included 368 subjects (168 who did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded) ranging in age between 25-55 years. (mean age 38 +/-9.45), women represented 59.5% and men 40.5% of the study group. An author's survey questionnaire posted on ankieteo.pl was used. SPSS Statistics program was used for statistical analysis. The level of statistical significance was taken as p < 0.05. Results. The collected data showed that loss of taste in the course of COVID-19 infection affected 66.1%, and loss of smell affected 58.9% of the study group. Symptoms lasted from 3-5 days and involved 31% loss of taste and 58.9% loss of smell. Respondents reported experiencing visual disturbances in 64%. Conclusions. COVID-19 infection has been shown to be significantly associated with loss of smell and taste. In addition, there are visual disturbances, the most common of which are decreased visual acuity and blurred vision.