Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for People With Etomidate Addiction (SToP-E-rTMS x Etomidate)

This is a 6‐month, double‐blind, randomized, sham‐controlled pilot clinical trialevaluating high‐frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for peoplewith etomidate addiction. Etomidate misuse has become an emerging public health concern,but there is currently no established treatment specifically for etomidate addiction.This study will examine whether active rTMS delivered to the left dorsolateral prefrontalcortex can reduce etomidate craving, use, and dependence severity compared with shamrTMS.The study will enroll 40 participants with etomidate use disorder. Participants will berandomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either active rTMS or sham rTMS. Bothparticipants and outcome assessors will be blinded to treatment allocation. Theintervention consists of 20 rTMS sessions delivered over 4 weeks, followed by anobservation maintenance phase with follow‐up assessments up to 6 months from baseline.The study will assess changes in etomidate use, craving, withdrawal symptoms, dependenceseverity, anxiety, depression, global cognition, psychomotor speed, and cognitive biasesrelated to delayed reward discounting and risk sensitivity. These assessments will helpdetermine whether rTMS may be a feasible and potentially effective intervention foretomidate addiction and related decision‐making processes.