Oropharyngeal Manifestations in Covid-19 Patients Volume 5 - Issue 4

Harshavardhan Annigeri¹, Bandiahanapalya Narasappa Yogesh¹*, Borlingegowda Viswanatha², Anudeep C kode³ and Monisha R³

• ¹Senior Residents, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, India
• ²Professor and Head, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, India
• ³Post graduates, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, India

Received: December 18, 2020   Published: January 06, 2021

Corresponding author: Yogesh Bandiahanapalya Narasappa, Professor and Head, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Bengaluru, India

DOI: 10.32474/SJO.2021.05.000220

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Abstract

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) an infectious disease was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It was considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic. Oropharyngeal manifestations like mucositis, glossitis, pharyngitis, tonsillar enlargement associated with COVID19 show inconsistency in their presentations. Hence the study aims at the early identification and better management of the oropharyngeal manifestations.

Aims and Objectives This study is to detect, analyze and to determine the prevalence of the different oropharyngeal manifestations reported in COVID19 positive patients

Materials: Patients who are diagnosed with COVID 19 using RT-PCR method, were assessed for symptoms and signs of oropharyngeal manifestations using standard questionnaires.

Method: Cross sectional study.

Results: Out of 486 COVID positive patients’ males outnumbered female patients. The highest number of oropharyngeal manifestations was seen in patients in the age group of 51-65 years (42%). Least age and highest age of the patient encountered in this study was 19 years and 78 years, respectively. Dry cough (37.8%) was the most common symptom followed by pharyngodynia (24.2%) with the least common being painful ulcers in mouth (4.9%). Among 486 COVID positive patients’ pharyngeal erythema(46.9%) was the most common manifestation followed by glossitis,(29.2%) and buccal mucositis(19.1%). Aphthous ulcer (4.9%) was the least common manifestation. In our study nearly 45.8% (223 in number) of patients had history of diabetes followed by hypertension in 38.7% (188 numbers) as the co morbidity found in COVID positive patients. Neoplasia was the least common co morbidity observed.

Conclusion: Oropharyngeal manifestations for COVID-19 are not common as fever and cough. But a universal questionnaire using well-defined COVID-19 manifestations is needed to make the COVID-19 data precisely defined, complete and homogenous and to differentiate from the etiology other than COVID 19.

Keywords:Oropharyngeal; COVID-19; manifestations

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