• J R Lechien, C M Chiesa-Estomba, E Beckers, V Mustin, M Ducarme, F Journe, A Marchant, L Jouffe, M R Barillari, G Cammaroto, M P Circiu, S Hans, and S Saussez.
• From the, COVID-19 Task Force of the Young-Otolaryngologists of the International Federations of Oto-rhino-laryngological Societies (YO-IFOS), Marseille, France.
• J. Intern. Med. 2021 Aug 1; 290 (2): 451-461.

ObjectiveTo investigate prevalence and recovery of olfactory dysfunction (OD) in COVID-19 patients according to the disease severity.MethodsFrom 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.ResultsThe 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 ± 17.9 days. Objective olfactory evaluations identified hyposmia/anosmia in 54.7% and 36.6% of mild and moderate-to-critical 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).ConclusionOD 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.© 2021 The Association for the Publication of the Journal of Internal Medicine.

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