A randomized clinical trial to stimulate the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway in patients with moderate COVID-19-pneumonia using slow-paced breathing technique

Purpose: A characteristic problem occuring in COVID-19 is excessive elevations of pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g. IL-6 and CRP) which are associated with worse clinical outcomes. Stimulation of the vagally-mediated cholinergic anti-inflammatory reflex by slow paced breathing with prolonged exhalation may present a clinically relevant way to reduce circulating IL-6. These data belong to the single-center randomized controlled clinical trial manuscript entitled: "A randomized clinical trial to stimulate the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway in patients with moderate COVID-19-pneumonia using a slow-paced breathing technique" https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.928979/abstract Trial registration: German register of clinical trials (ID: DRKS00023971) https://www.drks.de, Universal Trial Number (UTN) U1111-1263-8658; Keywords: Cholinergic anti-inflammatory reflex, slow-paced breathing, vagus nerve stimulation, acute viral infection, moderate COVID-19 pneumonia, dose-response relationship, IL-6, CRP, TNF-alpha, Leukocytes CC BY-NC 4.0 International