Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease whose symptoms and risk factors are newly described. Some allergic diseases, including asthma, have been defined as risk factors for a poor outcome in COVID-19. We aimed to investigate the role of another allergic disease—allergic rhinitis—in the severity of COVID-19. Methods This case–control study was conducted at Sakarya Educational and Research Hospital, Toyota Hospital and Yenikent State Hospital between March 18, 2020 and August 30, 2020. The study included a case group of 125 randomly selected patients who had been diagnosed with allergic rhinitis in advance of having COVID-19 and a control group of 125 patients without allergic rhinitis who were diagnosed with COVID-19. We evaluated all participants’ statuses regarding smoking, symptoms, and hospitalization, as well as the length of their hospitalization and the number of their comorbidities. Results There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups regarding percentage of asymptomatic patients ( p = 0.27), presence of smoking ( p = 0.068), hospitalization status ( p = 0.79), and hospitalization length ( p = 0.55). From each group, two patients needed care in an intensive care unit (ICU). One patient from the case group and two from the control group died due to COVID-19. Conclusion We found that allergic rhinitis did not affect the severity of COVID-19. However, we recommend that the literature be augmented with further studies on the COVID-19 prognosis of patients who have allergic rhinitis. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00405-021-06836-z.

The aim of the study is to investigate and compare the factors affecting publication rates of otorhinolaryngology (ORL) theses and plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS) theses. In order to examine ORL and PRS specialization theses published between 2013 and 2017, the author scanned the Council of Higher Education Thesis Center’s browsing system that contains a list of all published theses for the terms “ear, nose, and throat” and “plastic and reconstructive surgery”. All accessible theses (in total, 689), including 454 ORL and 235 PRS theses were included in the study. Most ORL and PRS theses authors were male (72.5% and 84.3%, respectively). Most of the ORL theses were conducted in state universities (76.9%), whereas most of the PRS theses were conducted in public universities (87.2%). More than half (50.9%) of the ORL advisors were professor doctors, compared to 46.3% of the PRS advisors. Most of the ORL studies were clinical studies (81.7%), while 74.9% of the PRS studies were experimental animal studies. In total, 24.5% of the ORL theses were published, and 29.7% of them were accepted in SCI- indexed journals. In comparison, a total of 19.6% of the PRS theses were published. The publication rates of experimental PRS and ORL studies were significantly higher than clinical studies. In order to increase the quality of medical theses and to publish them in scientific journals, the frequency of thesis production should be increased and that the factors affecting publication rates should be carefully examined, monitored, and improved.