ABSTRACT
Background: The unprecedented prevalence of olfactory disfunction (OD) by SARS-CoV- 2 has revealed the lack of specialized units dealing with sense of smell. The main objective of the study is to know the number of newly created olfactory units (OU) since the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to evaluate the diagnosis, management and treatment of patients with OD. Method(s): Prospective cross-sectional study. Carried out by means of a survey with 20 items: having or not having an OU, demographic data, smell test, evolution and management of OD, data on treatments. The variables of the survey were approved by the rhinology commission of the Spanish society of ENT. The digital survey was distributed to all members of Spanish ENT and Allergy Societies. Result(s): A total of 16 responses were missing data, and further 12 responses were duplicated. Finally, 136 surveys were included. From them 82.4% answers were from otolaryngologists and 17.7% from allergists. The cohort of allergists and otolaryngologists was compared to ensure comparability of both samples. There were significant differences in the instrumental assessment of the olfaction, VAS and smell test (p = 0.016) was more common in otolaryngologists. Also, the prescription of olfactory rehabilitation (OR) (p < 0.001) was more common in otolaryngologists. The 40.5% (+/- 7.6) of all the existent OU were created after COVID-19 pandemics. The 33.9% (+/- 4.5) of the respondent have an OU now, while 22.3% (+/- 3.9) already had it before COVID-19 pandemics. It means that 17% of hospitals who did not have an OU before COVID-19, now they have it, while 82.8% are still lacking it. OR was prescribed for 1-3 months by 38%;3-6 months by 48.1% and > 6 months by 13.9%. Those with an OU prescribe OR during more time (p = 0.002) being the most frequent answer 3-6 months (69.4%) when they have OU while 1-3 months (52.4%) for those who do not have it. Conclusion(s): This study revealed that COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated the creation of OU and has demonstrated the utility of OU to deal with patients with OD, as their daily practice is more adapted to up-to- date clinical evidence between allergist and otolaryngologists.