STUDY PROTOCOL article
Front. Med.
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Pathogenesis and Therapy
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1620288
Electro-acupuncture for long COVID neuropsychiatric symptoms: Study protocol for a prospective, randomized sham-controlled, patient-assessor-blindeddouble-blinded clinical trial
Provisionally accepted
Dong-Jue Wei1Chun-Wai Chow1William Yh Cheung1
Wing Fai Yeung2
Peihua Cao3Ching Liong4
Haiyong CHEN5
Shi Ping Zhang1
Linda LD Zhong1,6*- 1Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
- 2The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
- 3Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- 4The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- 5The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- 6Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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Introduction: Patients recovering from long COVID often endure a spectrum of neuropsychiatric ymptoms, including cognitive impairment, memory deficits, mood disturbances and sleep disorders, that significantly impact their quality of life. Acupuncture, particularly electroacupuncture, has shown promise in addressing these symptoms. Currently there is no high-quality clinical trial for acupuncture on long COVID neuropsychiatric symptoms. Methods and Analysis: In this 24-week, sham-controlled, patient-assessor-blindeddouble-blinded randomized trial, 150 long COVID patients will be equally allocated to either an electroacupuncture group (EAG) or a sham control group (SCG). Each subject will receive a total of 32 intervention sessions over a 16-week intervention phase (two sessions each week) and will be followed up for an additional 8 weeks. Primary outcomes include changes in the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Chinese version of the Beck Depression Inventory (CBDI) scores. Secondary outcomes include the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Brief Fatigue Inventory-Taiwan (BFI-T), and the Short Form 12 (SF-12). All outcomes will be assessed at baseline and then at four-week intervals during both the treatment and post-treatment periods. Discussion: This trial aims to generate robust clinical data on the therapeutic effects of electroacupuncture for long COVID. The anticipated results will clarify electroacupuncture's value as a therapeutic option for neuropsychiatric symptoms in long COVID patients, contributing to evidence-based practice in integrative medicine.
Keywords: Long Covid, Electro-acupuncture, Neuropsychiatric symptoms, randomized clinical trial, protocol
Received: 29 Apr 2025; Accepted: 21 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wei, Chow, Cheung, Yeung, Cao, Liong, CHEN, Zhang and Zhong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Linda LD Zhong, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.