Stellate Ganglion Block for the treatment of olfactory and gustatory
dysfunction in patients with Long COVID: Case Series
Abstract
Weeks or months after recovering from COVID-19, a significant number of
people are still experiencing fatigue, ‘brain fog’, headaches, cognitive
impairment, smell or taste disturbances, myalgia and one or more other
symptoms. This condition has been termed as Long COVID and dysautonomia
is thought to play one of the important roles in the pathophysiology of
this condition. The stellate ganglion block (SGB) is thought to restore
autonomic nervous system functioning by temporarily inhibiting cervical
sympathetic activity and is under investigation as a potential option
for the treatment of persistent olfactory and gustatory dysfunction,
headache and other symptoms of Long COVID. In this case series, we
report that by performing SGB, we successfully treated and improved the
quality of life of two patients with a Long COVID diagnosis who
presented us with complaints of smell and taste sensory impairment.