A Systematic Review of Virtual Reality Therapeutics for Acute Pain Management.
Nathan J Dreesmann, Han Su, Hilaire J Thompson
PMID 35868974WHAT IT FOUND
In adults, most studies found lower acute pain during VR, but several found no benefit and one found worse pain.
Devices, content and study quality varied widely, so results are not consistent.
Key findings
01Of 23 included studies, 19 reported decreases in pain intensity while using VR, and 15 reported statistically significant decreases (p<0.05).
02Two studies found no difference between VR and standard care, one found no difference in pain intensity when individuals were or were not using VR, and one found VR increased pain intensity when paired with patient-controlled analgesia.
03Of the 12 studies included in the bias assessment, only one reported clear allocation concealment and three had high potential for bias; the majority had high bias in blinding and outcome assessment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 12 studies were included in the bias assessment, and most had high risk of bias in blinding and outcome assessment. The studies used very different VR devices, software, content and session lengths, so the evidence does not point to one type of VR that works. Many studies did not report infection control or participant training, and side effects were seldom measured. Four studies found no benefit or increased pain, so the overall picture is not uniformly positive.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that VR reliably reduces acute pain in every patient or setting. Of 23 studies, 19 reported lower pain, but several found no difference and one found increased pain, and most studies had high risk of bias.