Topicality: The problem of diagnosis and treatment of otitis externa (OE) has been posed to doctors for a long time, and until the discovery of antibiotics (AB) and antifungal drugs (AFD) remained unresolved. OE can affect up to 10% of people at different periods of their lives, manifesting itself in the form of acute OE (AOE) in 95% of cases after the age of 2 years. There is a reduction in the number of patients admittance to the ENT specialist with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining the structure of the pathology, where AOE - in the top three of frequency. At the same time, there are a reports of an increasing amount of AOE cases in patients with COVID-19. Aim: To evaluate the dynamics of pain, the need for additional analgesia, systemic antibacterial therapy (ABT) or topical antifungal therapy (TAT), the level of compliance in patients with AOE in empirical treatment with a complex drug «Candibiotic» in comparison with protocol treatment. Material and methods: The study included adults and children from 2 years of age with a diagnosis of AOE: 30 patients in the main (17 adults, 13 children) and 25 patients in the control (15 adults, 10 children) groups. Patients in the main group as a basic treatment received topical ear drops «Candibiotic». Patients in the control group received protocol treatment. If necessary, patients were additionally prescribed analgesic therapy (ibuprofen in the appropriate dose), systemic ABT or TAT. For subjective pain asses, a visual analog scale (VAS) was used. Compliance was assessed using the Morisky-Green questionnaire. The obtained results were processed by common statistical methods. Results and discussion: In the main group of patients receiving «Candibiotic», there were fewer needs for additional systemic analgesia, systemic ABT, no one needed additional TAT. Comparison of the obtained results (percentage) in the form of arbitrary tables using the chi-squared test established that the relationship between factor and performance traits is not statistically significant (p>0.05). The mean compliance score between the two study groups differed significantly as a whole and separately between the groups of adults and children (p<0.05). Conclusion: In patients of adult and pediatric age with a diagnosis of AOE at the initial empirical appointment of the drug «Candibiotic» there was less need for additional analgesia, the appointment of systemic ABT and AFT. Such results did not differ statistically significantly from the results in adult and pediatric patients who were prescribed protocol treatment of AOE. Patients with «Candibiotic» monotherapy had a significantly higher average compliance score compared with the control group, especially among parents of children with AOE. The complex composition of ear drops «Candibiotic» contributes to a high adherence to treatment in patients, and the lack of an absolute analogue makes it the means of choice for the initial empirical treatment of AOE in adults and children over 2 years.

Introduction. Olfactory disorders are observed in infectious and non-infectious diseases, but caused a new wave of attention as one of the fi rst and often the only symptoms of COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic. Aim. To evaluate the prevalence, degree, duration of olfactory and taste disorders in patients with COVID-19, their relationship with the severity of the disease and the impact on the quality of life. Materials and methods. 699 patients after COVID-19 were interviewed using the electronic questionnaire, which was developed based on the available data and our observations about the most common symptoms in COVID-19 patients. The questionnaire consisted of 35 main questions on the topic of the study organized in 3 sections. Response forms were closed, semi-closed or open. Two questions on screening for mood disorders were taken from the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). Patients were asked to rate their sense of smell and taste on a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS). Results. In most cases, olfactory and taste impairment occurred immediately after the appearance of other symptoms reaching a peak on 3-5th days of illness and did not improve after clinical recovery. Patients experienced varying degrees of hypo-, par- and cacosmia, subsequently even changing their food and behavioral habits (such as reducing or quitting smoking). Conclusions. The recovery of smell and taste had a clear direct correlation. More than half of the patients needed an in-depth assessment of their mental health most likely due to the combination of factors, including the impairment of smell and taste.