Otorhinolaryngological manifestations of COVID-19-A systematic review

Background: In early December 2019, an outbreak of COVID-19, caused by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), occurred in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China causing havoc all over the world. As clinicians, recognition of this disease is necessary to isolate these patients to prevent further human to human transmission. Due to its affinity to the respiratory tract and increased viral load in the nose and throat, we as practising otorhinolaryngologists are at increased risk of exposure to this life-threatening virus and warrants an in-depth knowledge on the symptomatology of this disease. This systematic review is intended to highlight the otorhinolaryngological manifestations of COVID-19. Method: ology The literature search was performed on PubMed database using Boolean operators ‘and ‘, ‘or’ as “otorhinolaryngological manifestations” or “rhinology” or “otology” or “larynx” or “hearing” or “olfaction” and “covid19” or “novel corona virus” or “SARS-CoV” with filters as ‘2020’ year of study on 7/08/2020 at 11.30 Am. Review Results Total of 357 articles were obtained on search and the final 12 articles extracted based on our selection criteria were reviewed. The studies included 6825 laboratory confirmed COVID -19 patients with varying severity of disease. Olfactory dysfunction and taste dysfunction were noted in 2355 and 2224 patients respectively. Nasal obstruction was reported in 323 patients and sore throat in 261 patients. Rhinorrhoea was reported in 209 patients .158 patients complained of post nasal drip and 152 patients presented with facial pain. Conclusion: As a practising otorhinolaryngologist, a good insight into the otorhinolaryngological manifestations of COVID-19 is essential to differentiate between the prodromal symptoms of COVID-19 and non-COVID viral upper respiratory tract infection.