Non-invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation for COVID-19: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial (SAVIOR I).

Background

Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is characterized, in part, by an excessive inflammatory response. Evidence from animal and human studies suggests that vagus nerve stimulation can lead to reduced levels of various biomarkers of inflammation. We conducted a prospective randomized controlled study (SAVIOR-I) to assess the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) for the treatment of respiratory symptoms and inflammatory markers among patients who were hospitalized for COVID-19 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04368156).

Methods

Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 allocation to receive either the standard of care (SoC) alone or nVNS therapy plus the SoC. The nVNS group received 2 consecutive 2-min doses of nVNS 3 times daily as prophylaxis. Efficacy and safety were evaluated

Results

Of the 110 participants who were enrolled and randomly assigned, 97 (nVNS,

Conclusions

nVNS therapy led to significant reductions in levels of inflammatory markers, specifically CRP and procalcitonin. Because nVNS has multiple mechanisms of action that may be relevant to COVID-19, additional research into its potential use earlier in the course of COVID-19 and its potential to mitigate some of the symptoms associated with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 is warranted.

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2022 Tornero, Pastor, Garzando, Orduña, Forner, Bocigas, Cedeño, Vallejo, McClure, Czura, Liebler and Staats.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

DC has served as a consultant and advisory board member for Medtronic, Inc. RV is director of research for the National Spine and Pain Centers, a consultant and advisory board member for Medtronic, Inc., and chief executive officer for SGX Medical, LLC. CM is an employee of NAMSA, Inc., CC is a consultant for electroCore, Inc. and an employee of Convergent Medical Technologies, Inc., EL is an employee of electroCore, Inc., and receives stock ownership. PS is an employee and was cofounder of electroCore, Inc., and receives stock ownership. Author CC was employed by company Convergent Medical Technologies, Inc. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.