Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Dec 7, 2020
Date Accepted: May 4, 2021
Date Submitted to PubMed: May 28, 2021
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Guided Relaxation-Based Virtual Reality for Acute Postoperative Pain and Anxiety: A Pilot Study in a Pediatric Population
ABSTRACT
Background:
Distraction-based therapies, such as virtual reality (VR), have been used to reduce pain during acutely painful procedures. However, distraction alone cannot produce the prolonged pain reduction required to manage sustained postoperative pain. Integration of VR with other pain reducing therapies, like guided relaxation, may enhance their clinical impact.
Objective:
The goal of this pilot study was to assess the association of a single guided relaxation-based VR (VR-GR) session with a reduction in postoperative pain and anxiety in children. We also explored whether pain catastrophizing and anxiety sensitivity influenced this association.
Methods:
A total of 51 children and adolescents (7-21 years) with postoperative pain followed by the Acute Pain Service at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital were recruited over an 8-month period to undergo a single VR-GR session. Prior to VR, patients completed pain catastrophizing (PCS-C) and anxiety sensitivity (CASI) questionnaires. The primary outcome was changes in pain intensity following VR-GR (immediately, 15, and 30 minutes). Secondary outcomes included changes in pain unpleasantness and anxiety.
Results:
VR-GR decreased pain intensity immediately (p < 0.001) and 30 minutes (p = 0.04) after the VR session, but not at 15 minutes (p = 0.16) post-session. Reductions in pain unpleasantness were observed during all time intervals (p < 0.001 at all intervals). Anxiety was reduced immediately (p = 0.02) but not at 15- (p = 0.08) or 30- (p = 0.30) minutes following VR-GR. Patients with higher CASI reported greater reductions in pain intensity (p = 0.04) and unpleasantness (p = 0.01) following VR-GR. Pain catastrophizing was not associated with changes in pain and anxiety.
Conclusions:
A single, short VR-GR session showed transient reductions in pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, and anxiety in children and adolescents with acute postoperative pain. These results encourage a future randomized clinical trial assessing efficacy of VR-GR. Clinical Trial: NCT04556747
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