Dysgeusia
Pronunciation: dis-GYOO-zhuh
A distortion or alteration of the sense of taste, in which normal flavours are perceived as unpleasant, metallic, or absent.
Full Definition
Dysgeusia is an oral sensory disorder encountered frequently in oral medicine clinics and may be caused by medications, salivary gland dysfunction, radiation therapy, systemic disease, or neuropathic processes. Editors must distinguish it from ageusia (complete loss of taste) and hypogeusia (reduced taste sensitivity), as these are distinct clinical entities with different diagnostic and therapeutic implications. In pharmaceutical documents, dysgeusia often appears as an adverse drug reaction descriptor, where it must be rendered precisely. The term should not be hyphenated and is spelled without a diaeresis in standard clinical English.
Usage
Usage note: Distinguish carefully from ageusia (absent taste) and hypogeusia (diminished taste). In pharmacovigilance documents, retain the author's specific term rather than standardising to a generic descriptor.
In Context
- "The patient reported persistent dysgeusia described as a metallic taste following commencement of metronidazole therapy." — Adverse drug reaction report
- "Dysgeusia, hypogeusia, and ageusia must be documented as separate adverse events and not grouped under a single 'taste disturbance' heading." — Clinical trial data management note