Parosmia after COVID-19: Olfactory training, neuroinflammation and distortions of smell

Distortions of smell, including parosmia and phantosmia, are increasingly recognized as important late sequelae of COVID-19-related olfactory injury1 . Significant research examined how COVID-19 may affect the olfactory pathway to anosmia and hyposmia2; however, far fewer data are available on sensory distortions, or how they may relate overall smell recovery. Insights into potential mechanisms may afford clues to relieving symptoms in afflicted patients3,4. To better understand the associations with parosmia, we collected data about the presence of self-reported parosmia from a sample of 480 (PCR-confirmed) COVID-19 patients with persistent olfactory dysfunction