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Updated: Jan 29, 2026

Transauricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Electroencephalographic Assessment in Disorders of Consciousness
Published on: July 11, 2025
Syncope after administration of epidural analgesia in an obstetric patient with a vagus nerve stimulator
1Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place Box 1010, New York, NY 10029, United States.
Abstract:
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an adjunctive therapy for medically refractory epilepsy and depression. Vagus nerve stimulation is generally well-tolerated, but cardiac arrhythmias or asystole are rare complications that have been reported. This case report describes an obstetric patient who received epidural analgesia and subsequently experienced two episodes of syncope synchronous with stimulation from her VNS device. These resolved after deactivating the device. This is the first report of a suspected arrhythmia during VNS in the setting of epidural analgesia.
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