Stellate Ganglion Block for the treatment of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in patients with Long COVID: Case Series

Weeks or months after recovering from COVID-19, a significant number of people are still experiencing fatigue, ‘brain fog’, headaches, cognitive impairment, smell or taste disturbances, myalgia and one or more other symptoms. This condition has been termed as Long COVID and dysautonomia is thought to play one of the important roles in the pathophysiology of this condition. The stellate ganglion block (SGB) is thought to restore autonomic nervous system functioning by temporarily inhibiting cervical sympathetic activity and is under investigation as a potential option for the treatment of persistent olfactory and gustatory dysfunction, headache and other symptoms of Long COVID. In this case series, we report that by performing SGB, we successfully treated and improved the quality of life of two patients with a Long COVID diagnosis who presented us with complaints of smell and taste sensory impairment.