Smell recovery in patients with COVID-19: an experience with nebulized nasal treatment

Since the initial notification of an unknown pneumonia hotspot in China, more than 80 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including almost 2 million deaths, have been reported to WHO. COVID-19 is a multifaceted and pleiomorphic disease ranging from asymptomatic cases to severe acute respiratory syndrome, frequently lethal. Olfactory dysfunction is a key symptom in COVID-19 patients and is frequent, as reported by up to 78% of infected subjects (1, 2). Smell impairment may be total, named anosmia, partial, hyposmia, or distorted, cacosmia. Smell defect is very disturbing and could be dangerous. Post-viral smell dysfunction is longer in COVID-19 patients than in patients suffering from the common cold (3). However, anosmia/hyposmia duration is very variable, ranging from a few days to months to persistent.