The impact of surgical masks on the nasal function in the COVID-19 era

Smell and Taste in Children with Covid-19

Objectives

To assess the frequency of loss of smell and taste in children during Covid-19 infection and their prevalence along with other symptoms, as well as the recovery of chemosensory function once healed.

Methods

To evaluate symptoms during infection, we adapted the Scandinavian adaptation of the Multi-Clinic Smell and Taste Questionnaire and the modified Monel-Jefferson questionnaire. For smell analysis we used Odor Identification (OI) and two variants of the Odor Discrimination (OD) test, and we compared the results with those of a control group.

Results

We enrolled nine patients in our experimental group and nine in our control group. Fever was the most frequent symptom (55% of cases), followed by anosmia and ageusia (44% of cases), muscle pain and asthenia (22% of cases) and diarrhea, abdominal pain, cough, and headache (11% of cases). In 11% of cases, olfactory symptoms were the only manifestation of the disease. There was no statistically significant difference in OI test and OD tests between the two groups (Children healed from Covid-19 and Control Group).

Conclusion

Loss of smell and taste are the second most common symptoms of pediatric Covid-19, and they should always be tested because they can be the only manifestations of infection. Olfactory function in Covid-19 children decreases with increasing age and improves with the passage of time after illness.

ENT symptoms of mask-wearing in the coronavirus disease 2019 era

OBJECTIVE

Analysis of the otorhinolaryngological problems caused by mask-wearing in the coronavirus disease 2019 era.

METHODS

A survey with 26 questions was sent by e-mail to 576 individuals.

RESULTS

The most frequently worn masks were three-layer surgical ear loop masks (n = 434, 80.1 per cent), followed by N95 or filtering facepiece code 2 masks (n = 58, 10.7 per cent), and cloth masks (n = 50, 9.2 per cent). The most bothersome symptoms caused by mask-wearing were difficulty in nasal breathing (n = 227, 41.8 per cent), nasal itching and pain (n = 93, 17.2 per cent), earache (n = 88, 16.2 per cent), difficulty in expressing oneself (n = 73, 13.5 per cent), difficulty in understanding speech (n = 56, 10.3 per cent), and ear itching (n = 5, 0.9 per cent).

CONCLUSION

The problems associated with mask-wearing may result in avoidance of wearing them. Thus, there is a need for new methods that will reduce the problems related to mask-wearing, to increase their use in the community.