Trial reportWiener klinische Wochenschrift2025
Feasibility and acceptance of transdermal auricular vagus nerve stimulation using a TENS device in females suffering from long COVID fatigue.
Trial report in Wiener klinische Wochenschrift, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Potential application of brain-gut axis-based treatments in Long COVID and ME/CFS: a case-based systematic review.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Feasibility, acceptance and effects of pulsed magnetic field therapy in patients with post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome : A randomized controlled pilot study.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2025Trial
- Transcutaneous Auricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation Against Fatigue Syndrome in Patients with Long COVID: Results of the Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Pilot Trial COVIVA.Neurology and therapy · 2026Article
- Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Post-COVID-19 Condition: A Systematic Review and Critical Appraisal of Clinical Evidence.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation improves dysautonomia, post-traumatic stress disorder and cognitive impairment in long covid patients: a pilot study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- A Review of Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Disease: Comprehensive Theory and Evidence for Mechanisms of Action.Comprehensive physiology · 2026Review
- Feasibility and acceptance of transdermal auricular vagus nerve stimulation using a TENS device in females suffering from long COVID fatigue: a comment.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2025Article
- Authors' response to the letter to the editor "Feasibility and acceptance of transdermal auricular vagus nerve stimulation using a TENS device in females suffering from long COVID fatigue".Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant health challenges, with some individuals developing long COVID characterized by persistent symptoms such as fatigue, dyspnea and cognitive difficulties lasting weeks or months after infection. This condition predominantly affects women and may involve prolonged inflammation and autonomic nervous system dysfunction. Current treatments focus on symptom relief and vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is being investigated for its potential therapeutic benefits.
methodsThis pilot study was a prospective, blinded, randomized controlled trial involving 36 female long COVID patients aged 18-70 years. Participants were assigned to three groups receiving VNS at frequencies of 10 Hz, 25 Hz, or a control of 2 Hz for 3 months. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, after 4 and 12 weeks.
resultsThe study revealed that all VNS treatment groups experienced reduction in symptoms associated with long COVID, particularly in fatigue and dyspnea, after 12 weeks. Participants across all frequencies reported an improvement in health-related quality of life. Heart rate variability remained stable throughout the trial, and no significant changes in morning salivary cortisol levels were seen across groups. DISCUSSION: Vagus nerve stimulation may offer therapeutic benefits for women with long COVID, particularly in reducing fatigue and dyspnea. The treatment was found to be safe, with no significant side effects reported; however, further research with larger study groups is needed to confirm these findings and examine the long-term effects of VNS on autonomic nervous system function.
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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.