ArticleFrontiers in neurology2022
Non-invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation for COVID-19: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial (SAVIOR I).
Article in Frontiers in neurology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04368156 (A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study Assessing Vagus Nerve Stimulation in CoViD-19 Respiratory Symptoms), which is not on this map. Cited by 35 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study Assessing Vagus Nerve Stimulation in CoViD-19 Respiratory Symptoms (SAVIOR)
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and Safety of Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review and Methodological Evaluation of Randomized Controlled Trials.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Pooled it
- Rheumatoid Arthritis and COVID-19 at the Intersection of Immunology and Infectious Diseases: A Related PRISMA Systematic Literature Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Pooled it
- Comparison of Preprint Postings of Randomized Clinical Trials on COVID-19 and Corresponding Published Journal Articles: A Systematic Review.JAMA network open · 2023Pooled it
- The Use of a Handheld Non-Invasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation (nVNS) Device for the Treatment of Long COVID: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of primary care & community healthTrial
- Trial
- Efficacy and safety of HD-tDCS and respiratory rehabilitation for critically ill patients with COVID-19 The HD-RECOVERY randomized clinical trial.Brain stimulationTrial
- A Review of Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Disease: Comprehensive Theory and Evidence for Mechanisms of Action.Comprehensive physiology · 2026Review
- Without getting under your skin: non-invasive stimulation activates the vagus nerve.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- RetrospectiveFrontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- Neuroimmune Control of Inflammation in Acute Kidney Injury and Multiorgan Dysfunction.Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN · 2025Review
- The virology of Omicron: pathophysiology, immune regulation, and clinical impact of SARS-CoV-2 sub variants.Virology journal · 2025Review
- Pulsed ultrasound targeted to the spleen mitigates against kidney injury and promotes kidney repair.American journal of physiology. Renal physiology · 2025Article
- Consensus Guidelines for the Use of Peripheral Nerve Stimulation in the Treatment of Chronic Pain and Neurological Diseases: A Neuron Project from the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Vagal nerve stimulation for the management of long COVID symptoms.Infectious medicine · 2024Review
- Review
- Musculoskeletal and Neuropathic Pain in COVID-19.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Bioelectronic Medicine: a multidisciplinary roadmap from biophysics to precision therapies.Frontiers in integrative neuroscience · 2024Review
- Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation improves Long COVID symptoms in a female cohort: a pilot study.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Article
- Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation: a bibliometric study on current research hotspots and status.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Review
- The brain-liver cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway and viral infections.Bioelectronic medicine · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
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.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.