Using Immersive Virtual Reality Distraction to Reduce Fear and Anxiety before Surgery
Presurgical anxiety is very common and is often treated with sedatives. Minimizing or avoiding sedation reduces the risk of sedation-related adverse events. Reducing sedation can increase early cognitive recovery and reduce time to discharge after surgery. The current case study is the first to expl...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/19/2697 |
| _version_ | 1797575826401656832 |
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| author | Araceli Flores Hunter G. Hoffman Maria Vicenta Navarro-Haro Azucena Garcia-Palacios Barbara Atzori Sylvie Le May Wadee Alhalabi Mariana Sampaio Miles R. Fontenot Keira P. Mason |
| author_facet | Araceli Flores Hunter G. Hoffman Maria Vicenta Navarro-Haro Azucena Garcia-Palacios Barbara Atzori Sylvie Le May Wadee Alhalabi Mariana Sampaio Miles R. Fontenot Keira P. Mason |
| author_sort | Araceli Flores |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Presurgical anxiety is very common and is often treated with sedatives. Minimizing or avoiding sedation reduces the risk of sedation-related adverse events. Reducing sedation can increase early cognitive recovery and reduce time to discharge after surgery. The current case study is the first to explore the use of interactive eye-tracked VR as a nonpharmacologic anxiolytic customized for physically immobilized presurgery patients. Method: A 44-year-old female patient presenting for gallbladder surgery participated. Using a within-subject repeated measures design (treatment order randomized), the participant received no VR during one portion of her preoperative wait and interactive eye-tracked virtual reality during an equivalent portion of time in the presurgery room. After each condition (no VR vs. VR), the participant provided subjective 0–10 ratings and state–trait short form Y anxiety measures of the amount of anxiety and fear she experienced during that condition. Results: As predicted, compared to treatment as usual (no VR), the patient reported having 67% lower presurgical anxiety during VR. She also experienced “strong fear” (8 out of 10) during no VR vs. “no fear” (0 out of 10) during VR. She reported a strong sense of presence during VR and zero nausea. She liked VR, she had fun during VR, and she recommended VR to future patients during pre-op. Interactive VR distraction with eye tracking was an effective nonpharmacologic technique for reducing anticipatory fear and anxiety prior to surgery. The results add to existing evidence that supports the use of VR in perioperative settings. VR technology has recently become affordable and more user friendly, increasing the potential for widespread dissemination into medical practice. Although case studies are scientifically inconclusive by nature, they help identify new directions for future larger, carefully controlled studies. VR sedation is a promising non-drug fear and anxiety management technique meriting further investigation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:44:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-82a86aa4f5214857a220a2176607c02d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:44:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-82a86aa4f5214857a220a2176607c02d2023-11-19T14:26:00ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322023-10-011119269710.3390/healthcare11192697Using Immersive Virtual Reality Distraction to Reduce Fear and Anxiety before SurgeryAraceli Flores0Hunter G. Hoffman1Maria Vicenta Navarro-Haro2Azucena Garcia-Palacios3Barbara Atzori4Sylvie Le May5Wadee Alhalabi6Mariana Sampaio7Miles R. Fontenot8Keira P. Mason9Ben Taub Hospital Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USADepartment of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, 44003 Teruel, SpainDepartment of Basic Psychology, Clinic and Psychobiology, Jaume I University, 12006 Castelló de la Plana, SpainDepartment of Health Sciences, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, ItalyCentre de Recherche du CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, CanadaDepartment of Computer Science, Faculty of Computing and Information Technology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Social Work, Catholic University of Portugal, 1649-023 Lisboa, PortugalDepartment of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USADepartment of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USAPresurgical anxiety is very common and is often treated with sedatives. Minimizing or avoiding sedation reduces the risk of sedation-related adverse events. Reducing sedation can increase early cognitive recovery and reduce time to discharge after surgery. The current case study is the first to explore the use of interactive eye-tracked VR as a nonpharmacologic anxiolytic customized for physically immobilized presurgery patients. Method: A 44-year-old female patient presenting for gallbladder surgery participated. Using a within-subject repeated measures design (treatment order randomized), the participant received no VR during one portion of her preoperative wait and interactive eye-tracked virtual reality during an equivalent portion of time in the presurgery room. After each condition (no VR vs. VR), the participant provided subjective 0–10 ratings and state–trait short form Y anxiety measures of the amount of anxiety and fear she experienced during that condition. Results: As predicted, compared to treatment as usual (no VR), the patient reported having 67% lower presurgical anxiety during VR. She also experienced “strong fear” (8 out of 10) during no VR vs. “no fear” (0 out of 10) during VR. She reported a strong sense of presence during VR and zero nausea. She liked VR, she had fun during VR, and she recommended VR to future patients during pre-op. Interactive VR distraction with eye tracking was an effective nonpharmacologic technique for reducing anticipatory fear and anxiety prior to surgery. The results add to existing evidence that supports the use of VR in perioperative settings. VR technology has recently become affordable and more user friendly, increasing the potential for widespread dissemination into medical practice. Although case studies are scientifically inconclusive by nature, they help identify new directions for future larger, carefully controlled studies. VR sedation is a promising non-drug fear and anxiety management technique meriting further investigation.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/19/2697sedationanalgesiadistractionnonpharmacologic analgesic techniquesopioidpain |
| spellingShingle | Araceli Flores Hunter G. Hoffman Maria Vicenta Navarro-Haro Azucena Garcia-Palacios Barbara Atzori Sylvie Le May Wadee Alhalabi Mariana Sampaio Miles R. Fontenot Keira P. Mason Using Immersive Virtual Reality Distraction to Reduce Fear and Anxiety before Surgery Healthcare sedation analgesia distraction nonpharmacologic analgesic techniques opioid pain |
| title | Using Immersive Virtual Reality Distraction to Reduce Fear and Anxiety before Surgery |
| title_full | Using Immersive Virtual Reality Distraction to Reduce Fear and Anxiety before Surgery |
| title_fullStr | Using Immersive Virtual Reality Distraction to Reduce Fear and Anxiety before Surgery |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using Immersive Virtual Reality Distraction to Reduce Fear and Anxiety before Surgery |
| title_short | Using Immersive Virtual Reality Distraction to Reduce Fear and Anxiety before Surgery |
| title_sort | using immersive virtual reality distraction to reduce fear and anxiety before surgery |
| topic | sedation analgesia distraction nonpharmacologic analgesic techniques opioid pain |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/19/2697 |
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