The Impact of Visual Distraction Interventions on Patients’ Pain and Anxiety During Colonoscopy

Abstract

Background and Objective: Patients undergoing colonoscopy may experience psychological distress related to the procedure, which may deter adherence and acceptance of future colonoscopies. Visual/audiovisual distraction interventions to alleviate colonoscopy-related pain and anxiety have been developed. This study aims to investigate the impact of these interventions on colonoscopy-related outcomes. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) testing the efficacy of visual/audiovisual distraction. Eligible studies were systematically retrieved by searching PubMed, EMBASE, WOS, SCOPUS, and Cochrane through June 2024 and extracted by 2 investigators. Continuous and dichotomous outcome variables were pooled using Cohen’s d and risk ratio (RR) with confidence interval (CI) using Stata MP version 17. We assessed heterogeneity using the χ2 test and I 2 statistic (PROSPERO ID: CRD42024555902). Results: We included 13 RCTs with 1439 patients randomized to an active intervention (n=804) or usual care (n=635). Only 3 RCTs were endoscopists-blinded studies, whereas the rest were open-label. The interventions included playing nature scene videos, real-time videos of the colonoscopy, or movies preferred by the patients. The active intervention arm was associated with a significant reduction in the pain experienced during colonoscopy (Cohen’s d: −0.57, 95% CI [−0.79, −0.35], P<0.0001), reduced anxiety related to colonoscopy (Cohen’s d: −0.66, 95% CI [−1.15, −0.18], P=0.01), and increased patients’ satisfaction (Cohen’s d: 0.65, 95% CI [0.49, 0.80], P<0.0001) compared with patients who received the usual care during colonoscopy. There were no significant differences between both groups in the willingness to re-undergo the procedure (RR: 1.11, 95% CI [0.98, 1.25], P=0.09), analgesia use (Cohen’s d: −0.21, 95% CI [−0.42, 0.0], P=0.05), or total procedure duration (Cohen’s d: −0.12, 95% CI [−0.24, 0.0], P=0.06). Conclusions: Visual/audiovisual distraction interventions decrease colonoscopy-associated pain and anxiety and increase patients’ satisfaction. These are promising interventions to improve patient compliance and quality of care during colonoscopy.