Noncholesteatomatous Cyst of the Tympanic Membrane: A Nonpublished Entity?

Introduction. The presence of a serous cyst in the tympanic membrane implies the description of a new or unpublished entity based on our knowledge whose origin may be very unlikely explained on actual embryologic and anatomic background. Clinical Case. We present a case of a 45-year-old woman with progressing right hearing loss. Physical examination revealed a whitish, round-shaped malformation in the posterior-inferior quadrant of the right tympanic membrane. The cyst was removed with a transcanal tympanoplasty. Discussion. A thorough PubMed search that involved the terms tympanic membrane gland, epithelial inclusion cysts, mucous-secreting cyst, and tympanic cyst has shown no positive results. The first description of an unknown entity, such as a tympanic membrane serous cyst, may be the key for clinicians to start paying attention to patients who suffer from similar pathologies and may pass unnoticed because of their rarity or peculiarity

Ethyl alcohol threshold test: a fast, reliable and affordable olfactory Assessment tool for COVID-19 patients

International audienceObjective: COVID-19 patients may present mild symptoms. The identification of paucisymptomatic patients is paramount in order to interrupt the transmission chain of the virus. Olfactory loss could be one of those early symptoms which might help in the diagnosis of COVID-19 patients. In this study, we aim to develop and validate a fast, inexpensive, reliable and easy-to-perform olfactory test for the screening of suspected COVID-19 patients. Study design: Phase I was a case–control study and Phase II a transversal descriptive study. Subjects and methods: Olfaction was assessed with the ethyl alcohol threshold test and symptoms with visual analogue scales. The study was designed in two phases: In Phase I, we compared confirmed COVID-19 patients and healthy controls. In Phase II, patients with suspected COVID-19 infection referred for testing were studied. Results: 275 participants were included in Phase I, 135 in Phase II. The ROC curve showed an AUC of 0.749 in Phase I, 0.737 in Phase II. The cutoff value which offered the highest amount of correctly classified patients was ≥ 2 (10% alcohol) for all age intervals. The odds ratio was 8.19 in Phase I, 6.56 in Phase II with a 75% sensitivity. When cases report normal sense of smell (VAS < 4), it misdiagnoses 57.89% of patients detected by the alcohol threshold test. Conclusion: The olfactory loss assessed with the alcohol threshold test has shown high sensitivity and odds ratio in both patients with confirmed COVID-19 illness and participants with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection