Abstract
Objective
To report the first randomized controlled trial to investigate if immersive virtual
reality (VR) treatment can reduce patient perceptions of anxiety compared with a tablet-based
control treatment in adults undergoing a first-time sternotomy.
Methods
Twenty first-time sternotomy patients were prospectively randomized (blinded to investigator)
to a control or VR intervention. The VR intervention was a game module “Bear Blast”
(AppliedVR) displayed using a Samsung Gear Oculus VR headset. The control intervention
was a tablet-based game with comparable audio, visual, and tactile components. The
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered before and after the assigned intervention.
Self-reported anxiety measures between the control and VR groups were evaluated using
an unpaired t test. Changes in self-reported anxiety measures pre- and post-intervention were evaluated
with a paired t test for both the control and VR groups. The study took place from May 1, 2017, through
January 1, 2019 (Institutional Review Board 16-009784).
Results
Both control and VR groups were 90.0% male, with a mean ± SD age of 63.4 ± 9.11 and
69.5 ± 6.9 years, respectively. VR users experienced significant reductions in feeling
tense and strained, and significant improvements in feeling calm when compared with
tablet controls (P<0.05). They also experienced significant reductions in feeling strained, upset, and
tense when compared with their own self-reported anxiety measure pre- and post-intervention
(P<0.05). Critically, control patients had no change in these categories.
Conclusion
Immersive VR is an effective, nonpharmacologic approach to reducing preoperative anxiety
in adults undergoing cardiac surgery and shows the validity and utility of this technology
in adult patients.
Abbreviations and Acronyms:
STAI (state-trait anxiety inventory), VR (virtual reality)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Footnotes
For editorial comment, see page 1097
Potential Competing Interests: The authors report no competing interests.
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
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- Improving Reality Virtually: Advent of the Virtual “Digi-ceutical”?Mayo Clinic ProceedingsVol. 95Issue 6
- PreviewManagement of the psychological state through pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments has been a focus of health care for millennia. Ancient therapies, such as ingesting devil peppers in ancient India or bowssening (immersing in water) in medieval Europe, relied on distraction rather than alteration of neurobiochemistry to alleviate anxiety. In modern times, pharmacological therapies such as benzodiazepines have replaced such ancient techniques. However, given the concerns of pharmacological interactions, risk of postoperative delirium, and physiological dependence, there has been interest in identifying alternative nonpharmacological solutions that alleviate anxiety, depression, and other psychological disturbances.
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