Virtual reality for pain management in advanced heart failure: A randomized controlled study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Hospitalized patients with advanced heart failure often experience acute and/or chronic pain. While virtual reality has been extensively studied across a wide range of clinical settings, no studies have yet evaluated potential impact on pain management on this patient population.

AIM:

To investigate the impact of a virtual reality experience on self-reported pain, quality-of-life, general distress, and satisfaction compared to a two-dimensional guided imagery active control.

DESIGN:

Single-center prospective randomized controlled study. The primary outcome was the difference in pre- versus post-intervention self-reported pain scores on a numerical rating scale from 0 to 10. Secondary outcomes included changes in quality-of-life scores, general distress, and satisfaction with the intervention.

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS:

Between October 2018 and March 2020, 88 participants hospitalized with advanced heart failure were recruited from an urban tertiary academic medical center.

RESULTS:

Participants experienced significant improvement in pain score after either 10 minutes of virtual reality (change from pre- to post -2.9 ± 2.6, p < 0.0001) or 10 minutes of guided imagery (change from pre- to post -1.3 ± 1.8, p = 0.0001); the virtual reality arm experienced a 1.5 unit comparatively greater reduction in pain score compared to guided imagery (p = 0.0011). Total quality-of-life and general distress scores did not significantly change for either arm. Seventy-eight participants (89%) responded that they would be willing to use the assigned intervention again.

CONCLUSION:

Virtual reality may be an effective nonpharmacologic adjuvant pain management intervention in hospitalized patients with heart failure.

TRIAL REGISTRATION:

ClinicalTrials.gov database (NCT04572425).

• Authors: Hunter Groninger, Diana Stewart, Julia M Fisher, Eshetu Tefera, James Cowgill, Mihriye Mete
• Journal: Palliative medicine (Palliat Med) Vol. 35 Issue 10 Pg. 2008-2016 (Dec 2021) ISSN: 1477-030X [Electronic] England
• PMID: 34431398 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial)

Topics

• Chronic Pain
• Heart Failure (therapy)
• Humans
• Pain Management
• Prospective Studies
• Virtual Reality