Keywords
Taste
Ageusia
Dysgeusia
Gustatory dysfunction
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Abstract
Objective: Summarizes the current knowledge on ageusia/dysgeusia in post-COVID patients focusing on the taste pathway as a possible gateway for central nervous. Literature review: Observational studies have revealed that loss of smell and taste may be more predictive in the diagnosis of COVID-19 than other symptoms such as fatigue, fever or cough. Taste dysfunction was associated with moderate COVID-19 infection. The duration of ageusia/dysgeusia is seven days on average, and almost all recover within a month. However, there are reports of patients whose taste has not returned to normal for prolonged periods after infection and still have alterations in taste for certain flavors. Final considerations: The mechanisms by which these alterations occur are not yet well clarified, but it is known that there is a neuroinvasive potential of SARS-CoV-2 that may play a role in the pathophysiology of taste alterations, due to a hyperinflammatory state, viral invasion in the central and peripheral nervous system, as well as post-infection immune reactions.
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