Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Post-COVID Syndrome

Effects of Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Post-COVID-19 Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of this study is to increase parasympathetic activity and decrease the severity of symptoms by providing vagal stimulation with the t-VNS method in order to suppress the increased sympathetic activity in patients with prolonged Covid symptoms.The main question[s] it aims to answer are:

Question 1:Is left ear transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation effective in suppressing the symptoms of patients in Post Covid syndrome?

Question 2:Is bilateral auricular transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation effective in suppressing the symptoms of patients in Post Covid syndrome?

A 5-minute heart rate variability measurement will be performed to measure the effectiveness of vagus nerve stimulation in participants.HRV is a non-invasive method used to evaluate ANS activity and is a measure of heart rate change over a period of time

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being 18 years or older
• Experiencing at least one of the post-covid symptoms for 12 weeks or longer

Exclusion Criteria:

• Considering that the female reproductive hormones level in the body and menstrual cycle may affect the ANS in female patients, female participants in perimenopausal, post-menopausal and pregnancy conditions were excluded from the study.
• Participants who used medication for the treatment of ANS dysfunction in the last six months were also excluded from the study.