Efeitos da HD-tDCS associada ao treinamento muscular inspiratório em pacientes com Covid longa: ensaio clínico randomizado duplo cego

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Long-term COVID begins three weeks after the acute infection, with persistence of symptoms for a period of 12 weeks or more, after resolution of the infection. The variation in the spectrum of symptoms demonstrates the multifaceted nature of COVID long in reaching multiple organs, regardless of disease intensity. In addition to the primary involvement, the pathophysiology of long-term COVID involves the central nervous system, which can cause long-lasting neurological complications. METHODS: This is a double- blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial, where 32 participants with long-term COVID were divided into an active and sham group, to receive an inspiratory muscle training protocol associated with transcranial stimulation in the diaphragmatic motor cortex through HD-tDCS, while the sham group did not receive stimulation, only the introduction of electrodes. RESULTS: No changes were observed in the variables of respiratory muscle function and lung function when comparing the groups, however, the active group improved compared to the baseline in the following variables: maximum inspiratory pressure, pressure generated by the inspiratory muscles in the first 100 milliseconds, ratio forced expiratory volume by forced vital capacity and peak expiratory flow. CONCLUSION: HD-tDCs could be an adjunctive therapy to be introduced to a post-COVID-19 rehabilitation protocol, however, more research is needed.