Figure 5.
The odds of a COVID-19 diagnosis as a function of olfactory ability in individuals with respiratory symptoms. (A) The solid line indicates the probability of a COVID-19 diagnosis as a function of “Smell during illness” ratings in our sample. The shaded region indicates the 95% confidence interval. (B) The solid line expresses the probability of a COVID-19+ diagnosis as a function of “Smell during illness” in odds (p/[1−p]); it is shown on a logarithmic scale. The shaded region indicates the 95% confidence interval. (C) Stylized depiction of change in the odds of a COVID-19 diagnosis and of the odds ratio. (D) The ODoR-19 tool. After healthcare providers or contact tracers have excluded previous smell and/or taste disorders (such as those resulting from head trauma, chronic rhinosinusitis, or previous viral illness) in patients with respiratory symptoms, the patient can be asked to rate their current ability to smell on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being no sense of smell and 10 being excellent sense of smell. If the patient reports a value below or equal to 3, there is a high (red) or moderate (orange) probability that the patient has COVID-19. Values in yellow (ratings above 3) cannot rule out COVID-19.