Abstract

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has been investigated as a novel neuromodulation tool. Although taVNS is generally considered safe with only mild and transient adverse effects (AEs), those specifically caused by taVNS have not yet been investigated. This systematic review and meta-analysis on taVNS aimed to (1) systematically analyze study characteristics and AE assessment, (2) characterize and analyze possible AEs and their incidence, (3) search for predictable risk factors, (4) analyze the severity of AE, and (5) suggest an evidence-based taVNS adverse events questionnaire for safety monitoring. The articles searched were published through April 7, 2022, in Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Lilacs databases. In general, we evaluated 177 studies that assessed 6322 subjects. From these, 55.37% of studies did not mention the presence or absence of any AEs; only 24.86% of the studies described that at least one adverse event occurred. In the 35 studies reporting the number of subjects with at least one adverse event, a meta-analytic approach to calculate the risk differences of developing an adverse event between active taVNS and controls was used. The meta-analytic overall adverse events incidence rate was calculated for the total number of adverse events reported on a 100,000 person-minutes-days scale. There were no differences in risk of developing an adverse event between active taVNS and controls. The incidence of AE, in general, was 12.84/100,000 person-minutes-days of stimulation, and the most frequently reported were ear pain, headache, and tingling. Almost half of the studies did not report the presence or absence of any AEs. We attribute this to the absence of AE in those studies. There was no causal relationship between taVNS and severe adverse events. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis of transcutaneous auricular stimulation safety. Overall, taVNS is a safe and feasible option for clinical intervention.

Details

Title
Safety of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS): a systematic review and meta-analysis
Author
Kim, Angela Yun 1 ; Marduy, Anna 2 ; de Melo, Paulo S. 3 ; Gianlorenco, Anna Carolyna 4 ; Kim, Chi Kyung 5 ; Choi, Hyuk 6 ; Song, Jae-Jun 7 ; Fregni, Felipe 8 

 Korea University Medical Center, Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul, Republic of Korea (GRID:grid.411134.2) (ISNI:0000 0004 0474 0479) 
 Uniao Metropolitana de Ensino e Cultura (UNIME) Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (GRID:grid.411134.2); Harvard Medical School, Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA (GRID:grid.38142.3c) (ISNI:000000041936754X) 
 Harvard Medical School, Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA (GRID:grid.38142.3c) (ISNI:000000041936754X); Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saude Publica, Department of Medicine, Salvador, Brazil (GRID:grid.414171.6) (ISNI:0000 0004 0398 2863) 
 Harvard Medical School, Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA (GRID:grid.38142.3c) (ISNI:000000041936754X); Federal University of Sao Carlos, Department of Physical Therapy, Sao Carlos, Brazil (GRID:grid.411247.5) (ISNI:0000 0001 2163 588X) 
 Korea University Guro Hospital, Department of Neurology, Seoul, Republic of Korea (GRID:grid.411134.2) (ISNI:0000 0004 0474 0479) 
 Korea University, Department of Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea (GRID:grid.222754.4) (ISNI:0000 0001 0840 2678); Neurive Co., Ltd., Gimhae, Republic of Korea (GRID:grid.222754.4) 
 Korea University Medical Center, Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul, Republic of Korea (GRID:grid.411134.2) (ISNI:0000 0004 0474 0479); Neurive Co., Ltd., Gimhae, Republic of Korea (GRID:grid.411134.2) 
 Harvard Medical School, Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA (GRID:grid.38142.3c) (ISNI:000000041936754X) 
Pages
22055
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2756518045
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.