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Olfactory bulb abnormalities identified using magnetic resonance in a cohort of patients with anosmia after COVID-19
Olfactory bulb abnormalities identified using magnetic resonance in a cohort of patients with anosmia after COVID-19
Luciana A. Ferrari 1, Lizeth Guardo 2, Daniela Jaramillo 3, Pilar Rodríguez 4, Naual Hatamleh 5, Javier Vallejos 6
1 Departamento de Imágenes, Centro de Educación Médica e Investigaciones Clínicas, Hospital Universitario Sede Saavedra, Buenos Aires, Argentina; 2 Servicio de Diagnóstico por Imágenes, Centro de Educación Médica e Investigaciones Clínicas Norberto Quirno, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina; 3 Departamento de Diagnóstico por Imágenes, Centro de Educación Médica e Investigaciones Clínicas "Norberto Quirno" (CEMIC), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina; 4 Departamento de Medicina Familiar, Centro de Educación Médica e Investigaciones Clínicas Norberto Quirno (CEMIC), Buenos Aires, Argentina; 5 Departamento de Diagnóstico por Imágenes, Centro de Educación Médica e Investigaciones Clínicas Norberto Quirno (CEMIC), Buenos Aires, Argentina; 6 Servicio de Diagnóstico por Imágenes, Hospital Universitario CEMIC, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
*Correspondence: Luciana A. Ferrari. Email: lucianaailin@gmail.com
Abstract
Anosmia, a frequent symptom among patients affected by COVID-19 and often associated with alterations in taste, does not have a clear pathophysiological basis in this context. Magnetic resonance imaging enables the structural assessment of the olfactory nerve, olfactory bulb, and primary and secondary cortices. In this group of patients with post-COVID anosmia, were identified structural abnormalities at the level of the olfactory bulb mainly depicted as elevation of the signal in T2-weighted sequences, and to a lesser extent as an increase in their volume. These characteristics were interpreted in probable relation to edema and inflammation after the viral infection, showing in certain cases asymmetry of the olfactory bulbs.
Keywords: Olfactory pathway. Inflammation. Viral infection. Imaging.
