Skin conductance as indicator of relaxation capacity in patients with and without post-traumatic stress symptoms due to COVID-19 hospitalization

<bold>Introduction:</bold> COVID-19 hospitalization can cause symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS), leading to sympathetic nervous system hyperactivity, evidenced by increased physiological responses such as skin conductance (SC), resulting in reduced capacity for autonomic regulation and/or relaxation. <bold>Objective:</bold> The aim was to evaluate and compare changes in SC during two relaxation phases between patients with and without PTS symptoms. Method: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted. 527 participants were included, and the Davidson Brief Scale was used to assess PTS symptoms and divide the population into: symptomatic patients (G1, n=148, 75.8% male, aged 55.71±15.80 years) and asymptomatic patients (G2, n=379, 34.5% female, aged 51.67±16 years). A 10-minute psychophysiological profile was conducted to assess SC, divided into 4 phases: eyes open (F1, baseline), eyes closed, natural relaxation (NR), and induced relaxation (IR). Left (LC) and right (RC) conductance was measured. Relaxation capacity (RC) was considered with the decrease in SC. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze the data <bold>Results:</bold> Statistically significant differences in RC were found in both groups: G1, RC (F1, M=0.934 ±. 061, NR, M=0.9.34 ±.072, IR, M=1.089±.090); G1, LC (F1, M=0.867 ±.055, NR, M=0.872±.066, IR, M=1.033±.080). G2, RC (F1, M=0.845±. 043, IR, M=0.792±.039, IR, M=0.980±.056), G2, LC (F1, M=0.867±.046, NR, M=0.830±.051, IR, M=1.063±.070) <bold>Conclusions:</bold> SC levels were higher in G1 compared to G2, consistent with PTS physiological behavior. In G2, SC levels decreased during NR; however, in both groups, SC levels increased during IR. Patients with PTS show lower RC, and although the findings suggest that IR could reduce physiological responses