Abstract
Introduction: The new coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), which rapidly turned into a global pandemic, progresses with mild flu-like symptoms, suggesting that there may be damage to the nasociliary clearance. The study aimed to evaluate whether nasociliary clearance in individuals with Covid-19 is affected or not using the saccharin test.
Materials and Methods: Saccharin test was applied to 47 PCR positive active COVID-19, 42 recovered PCR negative COVID-19, and 42 healthy groups to evaluate their nasociliary functions and the result was calculated in minutes.
Results: 42 (32.1%) recovered patients, 42 (32.1%) healthy, and 47 (35.9%) COVID-19 patients were included in the study. There were 13 women (31%), 29 men (69%) in the healthy, 18 women (42.9%), 24 men (57%) in the recovered group, 14 women (29.8%), and 33 men (70%) in the active patients. The mean times of saccharin nasociliary clearance were 24 (18-27) min in the active covid-19 patient group, 13 (8-17) min in the recovered covid-19 group, and 11 (8-13) min in the healthy. There was a difference between the groups in terms of the Saccharine test (p<0.001).
Discussion: We observed that COVID-19 patients showed a negative effect on nasociliary clearance time in the early period, similar to viral infections that cause other upper respiratory tract infections. We detected rapid healing in nasociliary clearance after the COVID-19 disease effect wore off.

Key words: COVID-19, nasal provocation tests, Saccharin, Smell, Upper respiratory tract infections