Objective To determine the pooled global prevalence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction in patients with the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Data Sources Literature searches of PubMed, Embase, and Scopus were conducted on April 19, 2020, to include articles written in English that reported the prevalence of olfactory or gustatory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients. Review Methods Search strategies developed for each database contained keywords such as anosmia, dysgeusia, and COVID-19. Resulting articles were imported into a systematic review software and underwent screening. Data from articles that met inclusion criteria were extracted and analyzed. Meta-analysis using pooled prevalence estimates in a random-effects model were calculated. Results Ten studies were analyzed for olfactory dysfunction (n = 1627), demonstrating 52.73% (95% CI, 29.64%-75.23%) prevalence among patients with COVID-19. Nine studies were analyzed for gustatory dysfunction (n = 1390), demonstrating 43.93% (95% CI, 20.46%-68.95%) prevalence. Subgroup analyses were conducted for studies evaluating olfactory dysfunction using nonvalidated and validated instruments and demonstrated 36.64% (95% CI, 18.31%-57.24%) and 86.60% (95% CI, 72.95%-95.95%) prevalence, respectively. Conclusions Olfactory and gustatory dysfunction are common symptoms in patients with COVID-19 and may represent early symptoms in the clinical course of infection. Increased awareness of this fact may encourage earlier diagnosis and treatment, as well as heighten vigilance for viral transmission. To our knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis to report on the prevalence of these symptoms in COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapies are the most widely used biologic drugs for treating immune-mediated diseases, but repeated administration can induce the formation of anti-drug antibodies. The ability to identify patients at increased risk for development of anti-drug antibodies would facilitate selection of therapy and use of preventative strategies. METHODS: We performed a genomewide association study to identify variants associated with time to development of anti-drug antibodies in a discovery cohort of 1240 biologic-naïve patients with Crohn's disease starting infliximab or adalimumab therapy. Immunogenicity was defined as an anti-drug antibody titer !10 AU/mL using a drug-tolerant enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Significant association signals were confirmed in a replication cohort of 178 patients with inflammatory bowel disease. RESULTS: The HLA-DQA1*05 allele, carried by approximately 40% of Europeans, significantly increased the rate of immunogenicity (hazard ratio [HR], 1.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.60-2.25; P ¼ 5.88 Â 10-13). The highest rates of immunogenicity, 92% at 1 year, were observed in patients treated with infliximab monotherapy who carried HLA-DQA1*05; conversely the lowest rates of immunogenicity, 10% at 1 year, were observed in patients treated with adalimumab combination therapy who did not carry HLA-DQA1*05. We confirmed this finding in the replication cohort (HR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.35-2.98; P ¼ 6.60 Â 10-4). This association was consistent for patients treated with adalimumab (HR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.32-2.70) or infliximab (HR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.57-2.33), and for patients treated with anti-TNF therapy alone

Objective To determine whether radiologically defined sarcopenia at the C3 or L3 level as measured by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging is prognostic of overall survival (OS) in head and neck cancers (HNCs). Methods Literature searches of PubMed, Embase, and Scopus were conducted on July 12, 2019, to include articles written in the English language with no constraints on publication date. To be included in the analysis, articles had to report the prognostic impact of skeletal muscle mass measured radiologically at the C3 or L3 vertebral level in HNC patients; hazard ratios (HRs) for OS; 95% confidence intervals (CIs); be from a clinical trial, cohort, or case–control study; and have English full‐text availability. Articles were reviewed in consensus by two reviewers, with disagreements reviewed by a third reviewer. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses and Meta‐analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology Checklist guidelines were used for reporting. Study quality assessment was performed using Quality In Prognosis Studies tool. The random‐effects DerSimonian and Laird method was used for meta‐analysis. Results Ten articles, nine retrospective and one prospective, were included in this meta‐analysis (n = 2,181 patients). Significant differences were found in OS for HNC patients with sarcopenia (HR = 1.98; 95% CI: 1.64‐2.39; P < .00001). No heterogeneity was detected in either the overall or subgroup analyses. Conclusions Radiologically defined sarcopenia is a negative predictor of OS in patients with HNC. Early detection of sarcopenia in cancer patients may help guide nutritional and adjuvant support to improve treatment outcomes. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope, 131:333–341, 2021

An elevated pretreatment NLR is a prognostic marker for head and neck cancer. It represents a simple and easily obtained marker that could be used to stratify groups of high-risk patients who might benefit from adjuvant therapy.

Highlights d L. monocytogenes secretes an RNA-binding protein, Zea d Zea binds and protects L. monocytogenes RNA, resulting in extracellular RNA accumulation d During infection, Zea binds RIG-I and modulates RIG-Idependent IFN response d Zea plays a role in L. monocytogenes virulence in mice

An elevated LMR may be an indicator of favorable prognosis in HNC. However, our results should be interpreted with some degree of caution due to the retrospective nature of cohort studies. Further research with high-quality prospective studies is needed to confirm the effect of LMR in HNC prognosis.

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the prognostic utility of the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in head and neck cancer. Medline (via PubMed), EMBASE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched from their inception to May 2017 for relevant literature. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to generate the pooled hazard ratios (HR) for overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). The study was conducted in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook and PRISMA guidelines. Risk of bias was assessed using the QUIPS tool. The logarithm of the HR with standard error was used as the primary summary statistic. Heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran’s Q and Higgins’ I². A total of 13 studies were included in the final analysis, combining data from 4,541 patients. The results demonstrated that an elevated PLR was significantly associated with poorer OS [HR 1.85, 95% CI 1.35–2.52, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.00001] and DSS [HR 1.57, 95% CI 1.25–1.97, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.0001]. Significant heterogeneity was detected for the pooled end points. Subgroup analysis demonstrated reduction of heterogeneity by controlling for sample size and cutoff value. 95% prediction intervals showed wide ranges crossing the null threshold.

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