To observe the efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) anode regulation of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC) cathode regulation of right frontal pole (FP2) in the treatment of patients with anxiety disorder caused by corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Two hundred and fifty-one patients with anxiety disorders who are suspected of having new coronary pneumonia due to the spread of new coronary pneumonia epidemic information, admitted to the Psychological Clinic, Psychosomatic Department and Rehabilitation Department of Mianyang Third People’s Hospital and Mianyang 404 Hospital from January to December 2020, were included as the research objects. The patients were randomly divided into tDCS treatment group and drug treatment group. One hundred and twenty-five patients in the treatment group were treated with tDCS, and 126 patients in the drug group were treated with paroxetine. The two groups were evaluated by the Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HAMA) and the Chinese revised edition of self-rating anxiety scale (SAS-CR) before treatment, one week, and two weeks after treatment. To compare the efficacy, the three routine, liver and kidney functions were also checked before and after 2 weeks of treatment, and adverse reactions were recorded during the treatment.

After 1 week and 2 weeks of treatment, the total scores of HAMA and SAS-CR in both groups decreased compared with those before treatment in this group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05), but there was no difference between the two groups (P>0.05).

The clinical efficacy of tDCS in patients with anxiety disorders caused by the new coronary pneumonia epidemic is roughly equivalent to that of paroxetine, and it can be used as an effective alternative treatment for patients who are unwilling to take the drug.