Pain is reduced by transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation and correlated with cardiorespiratory variability measures in the context of opioid withdrawal.

ABSTRACT: Over 100,000 individuals in the United States lost their lives secondary to drug overdose in 2021, with opioid use disorder (OUD) being a leading cause. Pain is an important component of opioid withdrawal, which can complicate recovery from OUD. This study's objectives were to assess the effects of transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation (tcVNS), a technique shown to reduce sympathetic arousal in other populations, on pain during acute opioid withdrawal and to study pain's relationships with objective cardiorespiratory markers. Twenty patients with OUD underwent opioid withdrawal while participating in a two-hour protocol. The protocol involved opioid cues to induce opioid craving and neutral conditions for control purposes. Adhering to a double-blind design, patients were randomly

SUBMITTER: Gazi AH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9682166 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature