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Objective: To develop a French Short Version of the Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders-Negative Statements (Fr-sQOD) to assess the quality of life impairments of patients with olfactory dysfunction (OD). Methods: Patients with OD and controls were enrolled from 2 academic centers. Individuals completed the Fr-sQOD, an OD visual analog scale severity, and the French version of the sinonasal outcome tool-22 (SNOT-22). Cronbach α was used to measure the internal consistency of Fr-sQOD. The reliability and the external validity of Fr-sQOD were assessed through a test–retest approach and by correlating Fr-sQOD with SNOT-22 scores, respectively. The external validity was assessed by correlation analysis between Fr-sQOD and the result of an assessment of the severity of OD on a visual analog scale. Results: Eighty patients completed the evaluations. The internal consistency was adequate (Cronbach α.96), and the test–retest reliability was high in the entire cohort (rs = 0.877, P <.001). The correlation between Fr-sQOD total scores and the severity of OD was moderate but significant (rs = −0.431; P =.001) supporting an acceptable external validity. Patients with OD had a significantly higher score of Fr-sQOD than healthy individuals (P <.001), indicating a high internal validity. Conclusion: The Fr-sQOD is a reliable and valid self-administered tool in the evaluation of the impact of OD on quality of life of French-speaking patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The worldwide spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is associated with the emergence of many clinical pictures of the disease. Patients might have nose and throat symptoms, such as loss of [...]

Objectives/Hypothesis: To investigate the efficacy of low‐fat, low‐quick‐release sugar, high‐protein, alkaline, and plant‐based diet as single treatment for patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). Study Design: Cross‐over observational study. Methods: Patients with LPR diagnosis at the hypopharyngeal‐esophageal multichannel intraluminal impedance‐pH‐monitoring were prospectively recruited from the reflux clinic of three University Hospitals. Patients were instructed to follow low‐fat, low‐quick‐release sugar, high‐protein, alkaline, and plant‐based diet for 6 to 12 weeks. Pre‐ to post‐treatment symptom and finding changes were evaluated with reflux symptom score (RSS) and reflux sign assessment. Findings were compared to those of a control period where patients did not receive any treatment or diet. Diet was evaluated with refluxogenic diet score (REDS). Results: Fifty patients completed the study (19 males). Otolaryngological, digestive, and total RSS scores significantly improved from baseline to 6‐week post‐diet, while there were no significant changes during the control period. At 6‐week post‐diet, 37 (74%) patients reported significant symptom improvement or relief. Among them, symptoms continued to improve from 6 to 12 weeks in 27 cases, corresponding to a diet success rate of 54%. The REDS was predictive of the baseline RSS (P =.031). Conclusion: Low‐fat, low‐quick‐release sugar, high‐protein, alkaline, and plant‐based diet is an alternative cost‐effective therapeutic approach for patients with LPR. Patients with higher REDS reported higher baseline symptom score. Level of Evidence: 3 Laryngoscope, 132:1916–1923, 2022 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate prevalence and epidemiological and clinical factors associated with olfactory dysfunction (OD) and gustatory dysfunction (GD) in COVID-19 patients according to the disease severity. Study design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: A total of 2579 patients with a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 were identified between March 22 and June 3, 2020 from 18 European hospitals. Epidemiological and clinical data were extracted. Otolaryngological symptoms, including OD and GD, were collected through patient-reported outcome questionnaire and Sniffin'Sticks tests were carried out in a subset of patients. Results: A total of 2579 patients were included, including 2166 mild (84.0%), 144 moderate (5.6%) and 269 severe-to-critical (10.4%) patients. Mild patients presented an otolaryngological picture of the disease with OD, GD, nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea and sore throat as the most prevalent symptoms. The prevalence of subjective OD and GD was 73.7 and 46.8%, and decreases with the severity of the disease. Females had higher prevalence of subjective OD and GD compared with males. Diabetes was associated with a higher risk to develop GD. Among the subset of patients who benefited from psychophysical olfactory evaluations, there were 75 anosmic, 43 hyposmic and 113 normosmic patients. The prevalence of anosmia significantly decreased with the severity of the disease. Anosmia or hyposmia were not associated with any nasal disorder, according to SNOT-22. Conclusion: OD and GD are more prevalent in patients with mild COVID-19 compared with individuals with moderate, severe or critical diseases. Females might have a higher risk of developing OD and GD compared with males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• COVID-19 patients with total loss of smell have more olfactory bulb abnormalities at the magnetic resonance imaging than patients without loss of smell. • The olfactory bulb MRI abnormalities may be objectified through a signal intensity ratio measurement that is calculated between the average signals of the olfactory bulb and the frontal white matter. • The loss of smell is probably due to olfactory bulb inflammation related to virus spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the occurrence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection. Methods: Patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection were recruited from 12 European hospitals. The following epidemiological and clinical outcomes have been studied: age, sex, ethnicity, comorbidities, and general and otolaryngological symptoms. Patients completed olfactory and gustatory questionnaires based on the smell and taste component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and the short version of the Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders-Negative Statements (sQOD-NS). Results: A total of 417 mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients completed the study (263 females). The most prevalent general symptoms consisted of cough, myalgia, and loss of appetite. Face pain and nasal obstruction were the most disease-related otolaryngological symptoms. 85.6% and 88.0% of patients reported olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions, respectively. There was a significant association between both disorders (p < 0.001). Olfactory dysfunction (OD) appeared before the other symptoms in 11.8% of cases. The sQO-NS scores were significantly lower in patients with anosmia compared with normosmic or hyposmic individuals (p = 0.001). Among the 18.2% of patients without nasal obstruction or rhinorrhea, 79.7% were hyposmic or anosmic. The early olfactory recovery rate was 44.0%. Females were significantly more affected by olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions than males (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Olfactory and gustatory disorders are prevalent symptoms in European COVID-19 patients, who may not have nasal symptoms. The sudden anosmia or ageusia need to be recognized by the international scientific community as important symptoms of the COVID-19 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents several patients who were diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and cervical lymphadenopathy (CLA). They presented symptoms like asthenia, nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, and fever. Also cited are the diseases where CLA could develop like cat scratch disease, toxoplasmosis, and Epstein-Barr virus-related mononucleosis.

In the original publication of the article, one of the co-author's name was published incorrectly as "Liugi A. Varia". The correct name should read as "Luigi A. Vaira". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The objective evaluation of the olfactory function of coronavirus disease 2019 patients is difficult because of logistical and operator-safety problems. For this reason, in the literature, the data obtained from psychophysical tests are few and based on small case series. Methods: A multicenter, cohort study conducted in seven European hospitals between March 22 and August 20, 2020. The Sniffin-Sticks test and the Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center orthonasal olfaction test were used to objectively evaluate the olfactory function. Results: This study included 774 patients, of these 481 (62.1%) presented olfactory dysfunction (OD): 280 were hyposmic and 201 were anosmic. There was a significant difference between self-reported anosmia/hyposmia and psychophysical test results (p = 0.006). Patients with gastroesophageal disorders reported a significantly higher probability of presenting hyposmia (OR 1.86; p = 0.015) and anosmia (OR 2.425; p < 0.001). Fever, chest pain, and phlegm significantly increased the likelihood of having hyposmia but not anosmia or an olfactory disturbance. In contrast, patients with dyspnea, dysphonia, and severe-to-critical COVID-19 were significantly more likely to have no anosmia, while these symptoms had no effect on the risk of developing hyposmia or an OD. Conclusions: Psychophysical assessment represents a significantly more accurate assessment tool for olfactory function than patient self-reported clinical outcomes. Olfactory disturbances appear to be largely independent from the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the patients. The non-association with rhinitis symptoms and the high prevalence as a presenting symptom make olfactory disturbances an important symptom in the differential diagnosis between COVID-19 and common flu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To develop a French Short Version of the Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders-Negative Statements (Fr-sQOD) to assess the quality of life impairments of patients with olfactory dysfunction (OD)., Methods: Patients with OD and controls were enrolled from 2 academic centers. Individuals completed the Fr-sQOD, an OD visual analog scale severity, and the French version of the sinonasal outcome tool-22 (SNOT-22). Cronbach α was used to measure the internal consistency of Fr-sQOD. The reliability and the external validity of Fr-sQOD were assessed through a test-retest approach and by correlating Fr-sQOD with SNOT-22 scores, respectively. The external validity was assessed by correlation analysis between Fr-sQOD and the result of an assessment of the severity of OD on a visual analog scale., Results: Eighty patients completed the evaluations. The internal consistency was adequate (Cronbach α .96), and the test-retest reliability was high in the entire cohort (r s = 0.877, P < .001). The correlation between Fr-sQOD total scores and the severity of OD was moderate but significant (r s = -0.431; P = .001) supporting an acceptable external validity. Patients with OD had a significantly higher score of Fr-sQOD than healthy individuals ( P < .001), indicating a high internal validity., Conclusion: The Fr-sQOD is a reliable and valid self-administered tool in the evaluation of the impact of OD on quality of life of French-speaking patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) has been reported with a high prevalence on mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. Previous reports suggest that volume and signal intensity of olfactory bulbs (OB) have been reported as abnormal on acute phase of COVID-19 anosmia, but a prospective MRI and clinical follow-up study of COVID-19 patients presenting with OD was missing, aiming at understanding the modification of OB during patients'follow-up., Methods: A prospective multicenter study was conducted including 11 COVID-19 patients with OD. Patients underwent MRI and psychophysical olfactory assessments at baseline and 6-month post-COVID-19. T2 FLAIR-Signal intensity ratio (SIR) was measured between the average signal of the OB and the average signal of white matter. OB volumes and obstruction of olfactory clefts (OC) were evaluated at both evaluation times., Results: The psychophysical evaluations demonstrated a 6-month recovery in 10/11 patients (90.9%). The mean values of OB-SIR significantly decreased from baseline (1.66±0.24) to 6-month follow-up (1.35±0.27), reporting a mean variation of -17.82±15.20 % (p<0.001). The mean values of OB volumes significantly decreased from baseline (49.22±10.46 mm3) to 6-month follow-up (43.70±9.88 mm3), (p=0.006)., Conclusion: Patients with demonstrated anosmia reported abnormalities in OB imaging that may be objectively evaluated with the measurement of SIR and OB volumes. SIR and OB volumes significantly normalized when patient recovered smell. This supports the underlying mechanism of a transient inflammation of the OB as a cause of Olfactory Dysfunction in COVID-19 patients., Competing Interests: Declarations of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)