Objective. To investigate prevalence and recovery of olfactory dysfunction (OD) in COVID-19 patients according to the disease severity.Methods. From 22 March to 3 June 2020, 2581 COVID-19 patients were identified from 18 European hospitals. Epidemiological and clinical data were extracted at baseline and within the 2-month post-infection.Results. The prevalence of OD was significantly higher in mild form (85.9%) compared with moderate-to-critical forms (4.5-6.9%; P = 0.001). Of the 1916 patients with OD, 1363 completed the evaluations (71.1%). A total of 328 patients (24.1%) did not subjectively recover olfaction 60 days after the onset of the dysfunction. The mean duration of self-reported OD was 21.6 AE 17.9 days. Objective olfactory evaluations identified hyposmia/anosmia in 54.7% and 36.6% of mild and moderate-tocritical forms, respectively (P = 0.001). At 60 days and 6 months, 15.3% and 4.7% of anosmic/hyposmic patients did not objectively recover olfaction, respectively. The higher baseline severity of objective olfactory evaluations was strongly predictive of persistent OD (P < 0.001). Conclusion.OD is more prevalent in mild COVID-19 forms than in moderate-to-critical forms. OD disappeared in 95% of patients regarding objective olfactory evaluations at 6 months.

Introduction: To evaluate the recovery rate of loss of smell (LOS) with objective olfactory testing in COVID-19 patients.Methods: Adults with confirmed COVID-19 and self-reported sudden LOS were prospectively recruited through a public call from the University of Mons (Belgium). Epidemiological and clinical data were collected using online patient-reported outcome questionnaires. Patients benefited from objective olfactory evaluation (Sniffin-Sticks-test) and were invited to attend for repeated evaluation until scores returned to normal levels.Results: From March 22 to May 22, 2020, 88 patients with sudden-onset LOS completed the evaluations. LOS developed after general symptoms in 44.6% of cases. Regarding objective evaluation, 22 patients (25.0%) recovered olfaction within 14 days following the onset of LOS. The smell function recovered between the 16th and the 70th day post-LOS in 48 patients (54.5%). At the time of final assessment at 2 months, 20.5% of patients (N = 18) had not achieved normal levels of olfactory function. Higher baseline severity of olfactory loss measured using Sniffin-Sticks was strongly predictive of persistent loss (p &lt; 0.001).Conclusion: In the first 2 months, 79.5% of patients may expect to have complete recovery of their olfactory function. The severity of olfactory loss, as detected at the first Sniffin-Sticks-test, may predict the lack of mid-term recovery.

We encourage SARS‐CoV‐2 polymerase chain reaction in the diagnostic workup of patients currently presenting with sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Background/Purpose: Hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) are generally diagnosed in an advanced disease stage. A total laryngopharyngoesophagectomy with gastric pull-up reconstruction is a time tested surgical treatment in our centre for resectable failures or recurrences after primary treatment with organ preservation protocols (radiotherapy or chemoradiation), or as a primary surgical treatment for very advanced hypopharyngeal tumors. We present the results of our approach in terms of success rate, postoperative complications and functional and oncologic outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all patients with hypopharyngeal SCC, who underwent laryngopharyngoesophagectomy with gastric pull-up reconstruction during the period 1989–2015. Results: The cohort included 60 patients. Mean follow-up was 32 months. Stage III and stage IV disease was present in 35 and 60% of patients, respectively. Successful reconstruction by intended gastric transposition was possible in 98.3% of cases. The in-hospital mortality rate was 8.3%. Two-year and five-year actuarial overall survival were 39.5 and 21.1%, respectively. Two-year and five-year actuarial disease specific survival were 58.5 and 46.6%, respectively. Two-year and five-year actuarial locoregional recurrence free survival were both 49.5%. A significantly lower locoregional recurrence free survival was observed in patients with pN+ disease compared to pN0 (Log rank, p <0.05). Complete oral intake was achieved in 82.7% of patients. Speech rehabilitation by means of Provox® puncture or electrolarynx was achieved in 66% of patients. Discussion/Conclusion: Total laryngopharyngoesophagectomy with gastric pull-up reconstruction for advanced stage hypopharyngeal SCC combines relatively good oncologic and functional outcomes in a prognostically unfavorable patient group.

Abstract Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is a key symptom of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Currently, a few data are available about the recovery of OD after the infection resolution. In this study, we investigated both prevalence and recovery rate of OD with subjective and objective clinical tools in 2,581 patients. First, our data showed that the prevalence of OD was significantly higher in mild form (85.9%) compared with moderate-to-critical forms (4.5-9.7%; p=0.001). Second, focusing on patients with OD who completed the 2-month follow-up period (N=1,363), we observed that 328 patients (24.1%) did not subjectively recover olfaction 60 days after the onset of the dysfunction. The mean duration of self-reported OD was 21.6±17.9 days. Third, the objective olfactory evaluations performed on a subset of patients (N=233) reported hyposmia or anosmia in 54.7% and 36.6% of mild and moderate-to-critical forms, respectively (p=0.001). At the end of follow-up, 15.3% of anosmic/hyposmic patients did not objectively recover olfaction. The higher baseline severity of objective olfactory evaluations was strongly predictive of persistent OD (p<0.001). OD disappeared in 75% to 85% of patients regarding self-reported or objective olfactory evaluations.