5.2 Chronic rhinosinusitis and other upper respiratory tract diseases
Is there a difference in the mechanism driving anosmia in chronic rhinosinusitis and SARS-CoV-2 infection?
The loss of smell in chronic rhinosinusitis is caused by type-2 inflammation of the olfactory epithelium.119 In COVID-19, the exact mechanism of potential olfactory neuropathy is still unclear.120 However, a study found that sustentacular cells of the olfactory epithelium express ACE2 and TMPRSS2, which enable SARS-CoV-2 entry and may subsequently impair the sense of smell.121