Positives

• A 10-day course of auricular percutaneous nerve field stimulation in 24 female Long COVID patients produced significant improvements in cognition, anxiety, depression, and sleep that were maintained at 1-month follow-up Europeanpharmaceuticalreview.
  
  
• Patients receiving the small auricular needle-array device reported improvements within roughly 14 days of continuous wear Europeanpharmaceuticalreview.
  
  

Negatives

• Patients in the auricular field stimulation cohort reported asthenia, ear pain on the stimulated side, and headache during treatment, although most resolved before the next stimulation period PMC.
  
  
• Some patients describe local skin irritation and tenderness from the percutaneous needles after the multi-day device is removed Health Rising.
  
  

Hurdles & Side Effects

• The percutaneous nerve field stimulator is prescription only, typically placed by a clinician, and a single 5-day adhesive device can run $400-$800 with multiple courses needed Europeanpharmaceuticalreview.
  
  
• Patients must travel to a clinician trained in placement and return for replacement every 5 days, a major access burden for housebound patients PMC.