The effects of virtual reality technology on reducing pain in wound care: A meta‐analysis and systematic review

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) technology has been widely used in clinical nursing care in recent years. We aimed to systematically evaluate the effect and safety of VR technology on pain control in wound care, to provide evidence and support for clinical wound care. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CINAHL, China Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, and Chinese Science and Technology Journal databases for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on the application of VR technology in wound care up to December 20, 2021. Two researchers independently assessed the quality of the included RCTs and extracted associated data. RevMan5.3 statistical software was used for data analysis. 13 RCTs involving 1258 adult patients were included, of whom 588 patients underwent VR intervention. VR technology intervention could reduce the VAS score(MD = −1.13, 95%CI:−2.01~−0.26, P < .001), pain cognition score(MD = −3.94, 95%CI:−4.59 ~ −3.30, P < .001), pain emotion score(MD = ‐5.21, 95%CI: −10.46 ~ −0.04, P < .001), pain sensation score (MD = −4.94, 95%CI: −9.46 ~ −0.42, P = .03) and blood pressure(MD = −4.66, 95%CI: −8.63 ~ −0.69, P = .02) during would care. There were no significant differences on the heart rate (MD = −1.85, 95%CI: −5.71 ~ −2.01, P = .45) and VR interestingness (MD = 28.96, 95%CI: −22.10 ~ 80.02, P = .27) of the VR group and control group. No publication biases among the synthesised outcomes were found (all P > .001). VR technology can effectively reduce the pain degree and sensation of patients during wound care, which may be an effective auxiliary non‐drug method used for pain relief during wound care.

Penerapan Teknologi Virtual Reality terhadap Perilaku Nyeri Pasien Pasca Bedah ORIF Fraktur Ekstremitas Bawah Saat Penggantian Balutan Luka

“…Beberapa literatur telah mengulas penggunaan teknologi VR sebagai metode yang sangat efektif serta digunakan dalam tata laksana untuk mereduksi nyeri pada saat penggantian balutan luka dan juga terbukti aman (Ding et al, 2019;Elrazek & Hassan, 2019;He et al, 2022;Hoffman et al, 2019;Indovina et al, 2018;Theingi et al, 2021). Meskipun demikian, studi yang mengarah pada penggunaan teknologi virtual reality sebagai tata laksana untuk mereduksi nyeri pada pasien dewasa pasca bedah ORIF fraktur ekstremitas bawah saat tindakan penggantian balutan luka belum ditemukan.…”

“…Selain itu, He et al, (2022) menemukan bahwa teknologi VR efektif mereduksi derajat dan sensasi nyeri selama perawatan luka dan dapat dijadikan metode non obat untuk mengatasi nyeri selama perawatan luka. Kemudian studi yang juga sesuai dengan penelitian ini yaitu penelitian Indovina et al, (2018) yang berfokus pada studi klinis untuk mengevaluasi kegunaan potensial dari virtual reality sebagai intervensi pendukung pada pasien selama menjalani prosedur medis yang menyakitkan dan penuh stres, melaporkan bahwa virtual reality merupakan suatu alat canggih yang menggunakan pendekatan distraksi yang memanfaatkan media secara audiovisual.…”

“…Namun belum ada konsensus lengkap dari para ahli mengenai detail mekanisme yang mendasari bagaimana virtual reality dalam mengurangi nyeri. Dibutuhkan studi lebih lanjut di masa depan mengenai hal tersebut (He et al, 2022).…”

Research Trends and Hot Topics on Virtual Reality in Nursing

“…17 Studies have shown that VR is an effective drug-free method, which can be used for pain relief during wound care, effectively reducing the pain level of patients. 18 It has been shown to reduce anxiety during medical procedures in patients receiving a wide variety of treatments. 6 The increase in the number of studies on VR over the years makes it difficult to dominate the field and reveals the necessity of determining the trends and gaps in the field.…”

Letter to the editor regarding the article “The effects of virtual reality technology on reducing pain in wound care: A meta‐analysis and systematic review”

“…Dear Editor, We read with great interest the review by He et al 1 about the effects of virtual reality technology on reducing pain in wound care. We highly appreciate their contribution to this important topic.…”