Electroencephalographic characteristics of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for prolonged disorders of consciousness: a study protocol

TL;DR

This study aims to identify EEG patterns that predict which patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness will benefit from transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation.

Contribution

The study introduces a protocol to screen EEG characteristics for selecting suitable patients for taVNS treatment in prolonged disorders of consciousness.

Findings

Patients will be classified into response and non-response groups based on changes in CRS-R scores after taVNS treatment.

Differences in brain power spectrum and functional connectivity from resting EEG will be compared between response and non-response groups.

The study will follow up with patients for 12 months to assess long-term effects of taVNS.

Abstract

Increasing evidence indicates that transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) can promote the recovery of consciousness levels in patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness (pDOC). However, previous clinical studies have shown inconsistent clinical efficacy of taVNS in treating pDOC. This could be because no research has clearly defined the indications for taVNS treatment in patients with pDOC, and patients who were not indicated for taVNS treatment were included. Therefore, screening out the indications for patients with pDOC who are suitable for taVNS treatment is a key scientific issue that requires urgent resolution at present.

We aim to incorporate 50 patients with pDOC into this study. All patients will undergo a 4-week taVNS treatment, and 30-min resting electroencephalogram (EEG) and Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) scores of each patient will be collected before and after the treatment. After the 4-week taVNS treatment, the patients will be followed up in the first, third, sixth, and twelfth months after the treatment. The 50 patients with pDOC will be classified into response and non-response groups based on whether their CRS-R scores increase. The differences in the brain power spectrum and functional connectivity of the EEG before enrollment between the two groups will be compared.

The research objective of this experiment is to screen out the EEG characteristics of patients with pDOC who are suitable for taVNS treatment by using EEG technology, and lay the foundation for the wider application of taVNS in the treatment of patients with pDOC.

Identifier ITMCTR2024000734, http://itmctr.ccebtcm.org.cn/.

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