Kurzfassung

INTRODUCTION: People with post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) suffer from a wide range of symptoms, including anxiety. Studies have already shown that cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) has a positive effect on anxiety in anxious people. This randomised, controlled, double-blind, single-centre pilot study aimed to investigate the effects of CES as an adjunctive therapy during rehabilitation on anxiety symptoms in people with PCC.

METHODS: Adults with PCC were randomised to an intervention group with rehabilitation and CES (100 μA) or a control group with rehabilitation and sham stimulation. CES was applied via electrodes to the earlobes for 60 min daily for 3 weeks. The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) score was collected at baseline and at discharge.

RESULTS: Forty people with PCC completed the trial. We found that both groups with (n = 20) and without CES (n = 20) improved significantly in terms of change in the BAI score (CESgroup: p = 0.037; shamgroup: p = 0.018), with no difference between groups (p = 0.82). In a subgroup analysis of anxious patients only (BAI: ≥16 points, baseline score), both groups (CESanxious: n = 10, shamanxious: n = 10) significantly improved the BAI score (CESanxious: p = 0.008; shamanxious: p = 0.002) with no difference between groups (p = 0.69).

CONCLUSION: This study suggests that CES had no additional benefit on anxiety symptoms during rehabilitation in people with PCC.

Keywords

Humans, Male, Aged, Middle Aged, Female, Treatment Outcome, ADULT, SARS-CoV-2, Pilot Projects, Double-Blind Method, COVID-19/psychology, Anxiety/therapy, Electric Stimulation Therapy/methods