Transcranial direct current stimulation for post-COVID fatigue: a randomized, double-blind, controlled pilot study.

Fatigue is one of the most frequent and disabling symptoms of the post-COVID syndrome. In this study, we aimed to assess the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on fatigue severity in a group of patients with post-COVID syndrome and chronic fatigue. We conducted a double-blind, parallel-group, sham-controlled study to evaluate the short-term effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (2 mA, 20 min/day) on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The modified fatigue impact scale score was used as the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints included cognition (Stroop test), depressive symptoms (Beck depression inventory) and quality of life (EuroQol-5D). Patients received eight sessions of transcranial direct current stimulation and were evaluated at baseline, immediately after the last session, and one month later. Forty-seven patients were enrolled (23 in the active treatment group and 24 in the sham treatment group); the mean age was 45.66 ± 9.49 years, and 37 (78.72%) were women. The mean progression time since the acute infection was 20.68 ± 6.34 months. Active transcranial direct current stimulation was associated with a statistically significant improvement in physical fatigue at the end of treatment and 1 month as compared with sham stimulation. No significant effect was detected for cognitive fatigue. In terms of secondary outcomes, active transcranial direct current stimulation was associated with an improvement in depressive symptoms at the end of treatment. The treatment had no effects on the quality of life. All the adverse events reported were mild and transient, with no differences between the active stimulation and sham stimulation groups. In conclusion, our results suggest that transcranial direct current stimulation on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may improve physical fatigue. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and optimize stimulation protocols.

Fatigue and Cognitive Dysfunction Are Associated with Occupational Status in Post-COVID Syndrome.

Post-COVID syndrome (PCS) is a medical condition characterized by the persistence of a wide range of symptoms after acute infection by SARS-CoV-2. The work capacity consequences of this disorder have scarcely been studied. We aimed to analyze the factors associated with occupational status in patients with PCS. This cross-sectional study involved 77 patients with PCS on active work before SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients were evaluated 20.71 ± 6.50 months after clinical onset. We conducted a survey on occupational activity and cognitive and clinical symptoms. The association between occupational activity and fatigue, depression, anxiety, sleep quality, and cognitive testing was analyzed. Thirty-eight (49.4%) patients were working, and thirty-nine (50.6%) patients were not. Of those not working at the moment of the assessment, 36 (92.3%) patients were on sick leave. In 63 patients (81.8% of the sample), sick leave was needed at some point due to PCS. The mean duration of sick leave was 12.07 ± 8.07 months. According to the patient's perspective, the most disabling symptoms were cognitive complaints (46.8%) and fatigue (31.2%). Not working at the moment of the assessment was associated with higher levels of fatigue and lower cognitive performance in the Stroop test. No association was found between occupational status with depression and anxiety questionnaires. Our study found an influence of PCS on work capacity. Fatigue and cognitive issues were the most frequent symptoms associated with loss of work capacity.

Neuropsychological Predictors of Fatigue in Post-COVID Syndrome.

Fatigue is one of the most disabling symptoms in several neurological disorders and has an important cognitive component. However, the relationship between self-reported cognitive fatigue and objective cognitive assessment results remains elusive. Patients with post-COVID syndrome often report fatigue and cognitive issues several months after the acute infection. We aimed to develop predictive models of fatigue using neuropsychological assessments to evaluate the relationship between cognitive fatigue and objective neuropsychological assessment results. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 113 patients with post-COVID syndrome, assessing them with the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) and a comprehensive neuropsychological battery including standardized and computerized cognitive tests. Several machine learning algorithms were developed to predict MFIS scores (total score and cognitive fatigue score) based on neuropsychological test scores. MFIS showed moderate correlations only with the Stroop Color-Word Interference Test. Classification models obtained modest F1-scores for classification between fatigue and non-fatigued or between 3 or 4 degrees of fatigue severity. Regression models to estimate the MFIS score did not achieve adequate R2 metrics. Our study did not find reliable neuropsychological predictors of cognitive fatigue in the post-COVID syndrome. This has important implications for the interpretation of fatigue and cognitive assessment. Specifically, MFIS cognitive domain could not properly capture actual cognitive fatigue. In addition, our findings suggest different pathophysiological mechanisms of fatigue and cognitive dysfunction in post-COVID syndrome.