Characteristics of Oral Manifestations in Symptomatic Non-Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study on a Sample of the Saudi Population

Figures & data

Table 1 Sample Characteristics

Variable	Overall	With Oral Symptoms N (%)	Without Oral Symptoms N (%)	p value**
	N=109	n=58	n=51
Age	39.3±12.4	39.1±12.2	38.5±13.4	0.528
Gender				0.637
Male	73(67.0)	40(69.0)	33(64.7)
Female	36(33.0)	18(31.0)	18(35.3)
Marital status				0.076
Single	22(20.2)	8(13.8)	14(27.5)
Married	87(79.8)	50(86.2)	37(72.5)
Occupation				0.927
Health care	2(1.8)	1(1.7)	1(2.0)
Non health care	107 (98.2)	57(98.3)	50(98.0)
Citizen				0.285
Saudi	33(30.3)	15(25.9)	18(35.3)
Non	76(69.7)	43(74.1)	33(64.7)
Oral hygiene				0.762
Fair	28(275)	4(7.8)	6(11.8)
Poor	10(9.8)	15(29.4)	13(25.5)
Good	64(62.7)	32(62.7)	32(62.7)
General symptoms
Fever	74(67.9)	38(65.5)	36(70.6)	0.572
Sore throat	39(35.8)	22(37.9)	17(33.3)	0.617
Runny nose	17(15.6)	8 (13.8)	9 (17.6)	0.580
Cough	55(50.5)	28 (48.3)	27 (52.9)	0.627
Shortness of breath	24(22.0)	14 (22.4)	11 (21.6)	0.915
Nausea	22(20.2)	10 (17.2)	12 (23.5)	0.414
Vomiting	10(9.2)	7(12.1)	3(5.9)	0.331
Headache	54(49.5)	33 (56.9)	21 (41.2)	0.101
Muscle pain	84(77.1)	46(79.3)	38(74.5)	0.552
Diarrhea	34(31.2)	23 (39.7)	11 (21.6)	0.042*
No smell	48(44.0)	35(60.3)	13(25.5)	<0.001*
Co-morbidity	10(18.3)	10(17.2)	10(19.6)	0.750
Diabetes	11(10.1)	8(13.8)	3(5.9)	0.171
Hypertension	8(7.3)	3(5.2)	5(9.8)	0.470
Asthma	3(2.8)	1(1.7)	2(3.9)	0.598
Epilepsy and arthritis	2(1.8)	1 (1.7)	1 (2.0)	0.937

Notes: *p value < 0.05. **p value using Student’s t-test (age) and the remaining variables either Chi-squared test or a Fisher’s test.

Table 2 Types of Oral Manifestations and Duration of Each Symptom

Type	Total	Duration of the Oral Symptom in Days (d)
	N=109	1 d	2 d	3 d	4 d	5 d	6 d	7 d	10 d
		n=19*	n=9	n=12*	n=7*	n=3	n=3	n=2	n=3
	N (%)
		n (%)	n (%)	n (%)	n (%)	n (%)	n (%)	n (%)	n (%)
Loss of taste	43(39.4)	14(73.7)	6(67.7)	11(91.7)	5(71.4)	2(66.7)	1(33.3)	1(50)	3(100)
Erythema and desquamated	8 (7.3)	7(36.8)	–	1(8.3)	–	–	–	–	–
Coated tongue	8 (7.3)	1(5.3)	1(11.1)	3(25)	1(14.3)	–	1(33.3)	1(50)	–
Ulcers and blisters	7(6.4)	1(5.3)	2(22.2)	1(8.3)	2(28.6)	–	1(33.3)	–	–
Pain and soreness	3 (2.8)	2(10.5)	–	1(8.3)	–	–	–	–	–
Dry mouth	1 (0.9)	–	–	–	–	1(33.3)	–	–	–

Note: *Some patients had more than one symptom.

Figure 1 Forms of oral manifestations among patients with oral symptoms (N=58) (A) Coated tongue, (B) Gingival erythema, (C) Ulcer, and (D) blister.

Table 3 Characteristics of the Oral Symptoms

Characteristics	N (%)
	N=58
● Number of the oral symptoms
Three combined symptoms	1(1.7)
Ulcers and blisters + Coated tongue + Loss of taste	1(1.7)
Two combined symptoms	11(19.0)
Loss of taste +coated tough	4 (6.9)
Loss of taste + pain and soreness	3(5.2)
Loss of taste +erythema	2(3.4)
Pain and soreness +erythema	1(1.7)
Ulcer and blister + dry mouth	1(1.7)
Single symptom	46(79.3)
Loss of taste	33(56.9)
Ulcers and blisters	5(8.3)
Erythema and desquamated	5 (8.3)
Coated tongue	3(5.2)
Dry mouth	0
Pain and soreness	0
● Oral location*
Dorsum of tongue	42(72.4)
Vestibules	7(12.1)
Buccal mucosa	5(8.6)
Lips	5(8.6)
Gingiva	5(8.6)
Ventrum of tongue	1(1.7)
Floor of mouth	1(1.7)
● Awareness of oral symptoms
Yes	49(84.5)
No	9(15.7)
● Onset of the symptoms
1st time	46(93.9)
Recurrent	3(6.1)

Note: *Patient may has more than one location.