Transcranial direct current electrical stimulation in combination with aerobic exercise: A pilot study in post-COVID-19 systemic autoimmune rheumatic patients

Table 3 Fatigue, physical function and muscle strength before transcranial direct current electrical stimulation, after transcranial direct current electrical stimulation, and after one month of follow-up

	Pre-tDCS	Post-tDCS	P value
MFIS (domains)
Physical (0-36)	23.2 ± 2.2	19.1 ± 1.8	0.332
Cognitive (0-40)	21.0 ± 5.6	21.6 ± 6.3	0.974
Psychosocial (0-8)	4.3 ± 2.9	3.7 ± 1.3	0.864
FACIT (domains)
Physical well-being (0-28)	15.4 ± 5.0	20.1 ± 5.0	0.987
Family and social well-being (0-28)	16.4 ± 3.6	17.0 ± 3.7	0.964
Emotional well-being (0-24)	16.3 ± 4.4	19.3 ± 4.4	0.521
Functional well-being (0-28)	15.3 ± 6.1	17.6 ± 3.9	0.683
Physical function
Timed-Up-Go test (s)	9.5 ± 2.7	6.8 ± 0.8	0.001
Sit-To-Stand test (repetitions)	10.3 ± 3.7	15.1 ± 4.0	0.037
Strength
Handgrip (kg)	21.1 ± 5.7	24.5 ± 8.3	0.522

pre-tDCS vs post-tDCS. EQ-5D: Health-related quality of life; FACIT: Fatigue Assessment Chronic Illness Therapy MFIS: Modified Fatigue Impact Scale; tDCS: Transcranial direct current electrical stimulation; VAS: Visual Analogue Score.