TY - JOUR
T1 - Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation effects on inflammatory markers and clinical evolution of patients with COVID-19
T2 - a pilot randomized clinical trial
AU - Uehara, Laura
AU - Corrêa, João Carlos Ferrari
AU - Ritti, Raphael
AU - Leite, Paulo
AU - de Faria, Deivide Rafael Gomes
AU - Pacheco-Barrios, Kevin
AU - Castelo-Branco, Luis
AU - Fregni, Felipe
AU - Corrêa, Fernanda Ishida
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Objective: To evaluate the effects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) on inflammatory markers and clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Methods: A randomized blinded pilot study was carried out with 21 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 who received 14 sessions of active (a-taVNS) or sham taVNS (s-taVNS). The level of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), cortisol, and C-reactive protein (CRP) in plasma and clinical evolution pre- and post-intervention were evaluated. The memory and attention levels were evaluated 14 days after the end of the treatment. Results: After treatment, significant intragroup differences were found in the CRP (p = 0.01), IL-6 (p = 0.01), and cortisol (p = 0.01) levels; however, in the comparison between the groups, only the CRP level was statistically lower for the a-taVNS (p = 0.04). The impression of improvement in memory and attention was greater in the a-taVNS than in the s-taVNS (p = 0.01, p = 0.04, respectively). There was no difference between the other clinical outcomes. Conclusions: taVNS is a viable and safe intervention in the acute care of patients with COVID-19, which can modulate their inflammatory profile and improve cognitive symptoms. However, improvements in overall clinical outcomes were not detected. Larger sample sizes and longer follow-ups are needed to confirm the anti-inflammatory and clinical effects of taVNS in patients with COVID-19. Trials Registry: The Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (RBR–399t4g5).
AB - Objective: To evaluate the effects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) on inflammatory markers and clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Methods: A randomized blinded pilot study was carried out with 21 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 who received 14 sessions of active (a-taVNS) or sham taVNS (s-taVNS). The level of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), cortisol, and C-reactive protein (CRP) in plasma and clinical evolution pre- and post-intervention were evaluated. The memory and attention levels were evaluated 14 days after the end of the treatment. Results: After treatment, significant intragroup differences were found in the CRP (p = 0.01), IL-6 (p = 0.01), and cortisol (p = 0.01) levels; however, in the comparison between the groups, only the CRP level was statistically lower for the a-taVNS (p = 0.04). The impression of improvement in memory and attention was greater in the a-taVNS than in the s-taVNS (p = 0.01, p = 0.04, respectively). There was no difference between the other clinical outcomes. Conclusions: taVNS is a viable and safe intervention in the acute care of patients with COVID-19, which can modulate their inflammatory profile and improve cognitive symptoms. However, improvements in overall clinical outcomes were not detected. Larger sample sizes and longer follow-ups are needed to confirm the anti-inflammatory and clinical effects of taVNS in patients with COVID-19. Trials Registry: The Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (RBR–399t4g5).
KW - COVID-19
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - inflammation
KW - neuromodulation
KW - noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation
KW - vagus nerve
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85144308677&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/17434440.2022.2154147
DO - 10.1080/17434440.2022.2154147
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 36540947
AN - SCOPUS:85144308677
SN - 1743-4440
VL - 19
SP - 915
EP - 920
JO - Expert Review of Medical Devices
JF - Expert Review of Medical Devices
IS - 11
ER -
