{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"institution":[{"name":"medRxiv"}],"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,16]],"date-time":"2026-01-16T07:46:34Z","timestamp":1768549594559,"version":"3.49.0"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,9]]},"group-title":"Infectious Diseases (except HIV\/AIDS)","reference-count":32,"publisher":"openRxiv","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Healthcare workers (HCW) treating COVID-19 patients are at high risk for infection and may also spread infection through their contact with vulnerable patients. Smell loss has been associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, but it is unknown whether monitoring for smell loss can be used to identify asymptomatic infection among high risk individuals, like HCW.<\/jats:p>\n                <\/jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>We performed a prospective cohort study, tracking 473 HCW across three months to determine if smell loss could predict SARS-CoV-2 infection in this high-risk group. HCW subjects completed a longitudinal, novel behavioral at-home assessment of smell function with household items, as well as detailed symptom surveys that included a parosmia screening questionnaire, and RT-qPCR testing to identify SARSCoV-2 infection.<\/jats:p>\n                <\/jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    SARS-CoV-2 was identified in 17 (3.6%) of 473 HCW. Among the 17 infected HCW, 53% reported smell loss, and were more likely to report smell loss than COVID-negative HCW on both the at-home assessment and the screening questionnaire (\n                    <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                    &lt; .01). 67% reported smell loss prior to having a positive SARS-CoV-2 test, and smell loss was reported a median of two days before testing positive. Neurological symptoms were reported more frequently among COVID-positive HCW who reported smell loss (\n                    <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                    &lt; .01).\n                  <\/jats:p>\n                <\/jats:sec>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>In this prospective study of HCW, self-reported changes in smell using two different measures were predictive of COVID-19 infection. Smell loss frequently preceded a positive test and was associated with neurological symptoms.<\/jats:p>\n                <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1101\/2020.09.07.20188813","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,9]],"date-time":"2020-09-09T18:00:11Z","timestamp":1599674411000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Tracking Smell Loss to Identify Healthcare Workers with SARS-CoV-2 Infection"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4050-6690","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Julian J.","family":"Weiss","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tuki N.","family":"Attuquayefio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Elizabeth B.","family":"White","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fangyong","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rachel S.","family":"Herz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Theresa L.","family":"White","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Melissa","family":"Campbell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bertie","family":"Geng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rupak","family":"Datta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6015-0279","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anne L.","family":"Wyllie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nathan D.","family":"Grubaugh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Arnau","family":"Casanovas-Massana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"M.","family":"Catherine Muenker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ryan","family":"Handoko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7824-9856","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Akiko","family":"Iwasaki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"name":"the Yale IMPACT Research Team","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Richard A.","family":"Martinello","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Albert I.","family":"Ko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dana M.","family":"Small","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shelli F.","family":"Farhadian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"54368","reference":[{"key":"2021020914054334000_2020.09.07.20188813v1.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2020.2565"},{"key":"2021020914054334000_2020.09.07.20188813v1.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7326\/M20-3012"},{"key":"2021020914054334000_2020.09.07.20188813v1.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Furukawa N , Brooks J , Sobel J. 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