SARS-CoV-2 Anosmia Dysguageusia Loss of smell Positive predictive value Viral load s u m m a r y Objectives: To determine the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 positive samples in a subset of patients consulting for primarily isolated acute (< 7 days) loss of smell and to assess the diagnostic accuracy of olfactory/gustatory dysfunction for COVID-19 diagnosis in the overall population tested for COVID-19 in the same period. Methods: Prospective multicentric cohort study in four olfactory ENT units and a screening center for COVID-19. Results: i) Among a subset of 55 patients consulting for primarily recent loss of smell, we found that 51 (92.7%) had a COVID-19 positive test (median viral load of 28.8 cycle threshold). Loss of smell was mostly total (anosmia), rarely associated with nasal obstruction but associated with a taste disorder in * Corresponding author.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of local intranasal treatment with budesonide (nasal irrigation), in addition to olfactory rehabilitation, in the management of loss of smell in COVID-19 patients without signs of severity and with persistent hyposmia 30 days after the onset of symptoms. To search for an association between the presence of an obstruction on MRI and the severity of olfactory loss, at inclusion and after 30 days of treatment.