Effect of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on poststroke cognitive impairment: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

This study protocol aims to investigate the effect and neural mechanism of the combination of tDCS and taVNS on cognitive function in patients who had a stroke. Methods and analysis In this single-centre, prospective, parallel, randomised controlled trial, a total of 66 patients with poststroke cognitive impairment will be recruited and randomly assigned (1:1:1) to the tDCS group, the taVNS group and the combination of tDCS and taVNS group. Each group will receive 30 min of treatment daily, five times weekly for 3 weeks. Primary clinical outcome is the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Secondary clinical outcomes include the Mini-Mental State Examination, Stroop Colour Word Test, Trail Marking Test, Symbol Digit Modalities Test and Modified Barthel Index. All clinical outcomes, functional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging will be measured at preintervention and postintervention. Ethics and dissemination The trial has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Yangtze University (approval no: KY202390). The results will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals or at scientific conferences. Trial registration number ChiCTR2300076632.
Source: BMJ Open - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Open access, Rehabilitation medicine Source Type: research