2 research outputs found
Efficacy of virtual reality for pain relief in medical procedures: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BackgroundEffective pain control is crucial to optimise the success of medical procedures. Immersive virtual reality (VR) technology could offer an effective non-invasive, non-pharmacological option to distract patients and reduce their experience of pain. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Immersive virtual reality (VR) technology in reducing patientβs pain perception during various medical procedures by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, and SIGLE until December 2022 for all randomised clinical trials (RCT) evaluating any type of VR in patients undergoing any medical procedure. We conducted a random effect meta-analysis summarising standardised mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). We evaluated heterogeneity using I 2 and explored it using subgroup and meta-regression analyses.ResultsIn total, we included 92 RCTs (nβ=β7133 participants). There was a significant reduction in pain scores with VR across all medical procedures (nβ=β83, SMDβββ0.78, 95% CIβββ1.00 toβββ0.57, I 2β=β93%, pβ=β<β0.01). Subgroup analysis showed varied reduction in pain scores across trial designs [crossover (nβ=β13, SMDβββ0.86, 95% CIβββ1.23 toβββ0.49, I 2β=β72%, pβ=β<β0.01) vs parallel RCTs (nβ=β70, SMDβββ0.77, 95% CIβββ1.01 toβββ0.52, I 2β=β90%, pβ=β<β0.01)]; participant age groups [paediatric (nβ=β43, SMDβββ0.91, 95% CIβββ1.26 toβββ0.56, I 2β=β87%, pβ=β<β0.01) vs adults (nβ=β40, SMDβββ0.66, 95% CIβββ0.94 toβββ0.39, I 2β=β89%, pβ=β<β0.01)] or procedures [venepuncture (nβ=β32, SMDβββ0.99, 95% CIβββ1.52 toβββ0.46, I 2β=β90%, pβ=β<β0.01) vs childbirth (nβ=β7, SMDβββ0.99, 95% CIβββ1.59 toβββ0.38, I 2β=β88%, pβ=β<β0.01) vs minimally invasive medical procedures (nβ=β25, SMDβββ0.51, 95% CIβββ0.79 toβββ0.23, I 2β=β85%, pβ=β<β0.01) vs dressing changes in burn patients (nβ=β19, SMDβββ0.8, 95% CIβββ1.16 toβββ0.45, I 2β=β87%, pβ=β<β0.01)]. We explored heterogeneity using meta-regression which showed no significant impact of different covariates including crossover trials (pβ=β0.53), minimally invasive procedures (pβ=β0.37), and among paediatric participants (pβ=β0.27). Cumulative meta-analysis showed no change in overall effect estimates with the additional RCTs since 2018.ConclusionsImmersive VR technology offers effective pain control across various medical procedures, albeit statistical heterogeneity. Further research is needed to inform the safe adoption of this technology across different medical disciplines
Efficacy of virtual reality for pain relief in medical procedures: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Background: Effective pain control is crucial to optimise the success of medical procedures. Immersive virtual reality (VR) technology could offer an effective non-invasive, non-pharmacological option to distract patients and reduce their experience of pain. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Immersive virtual reality (VR) technology in reducing patientβs pain perception during various medical procedures by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, and SIGLE until December 2022 for all randomised clinical trials (RCT) evaluating any type of VR in patients undergoing any medical procedure. We conducted a random efect meta-analysis summarising standardised mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). We evaluated heterogeneity using I 2 and explored it using subgroup and meta-regression analyses.Results: In total, we included 92 RCTs (n=7133 participants). There was a significant reduction in pain scores with VR across all medical procedures (n=83, SMDβ0.78, 95% CIβ1.00 toβ0.57, I 2=93%, p=Conclusions: Immersive VR technology offers effective pain control across various medical procedures, albeit statistical heterogeneity. Further research is needed to inform the safe adoption of this technology across diferent medical disciplines.</p