Virtual Reality on pediatric pain and fear during procedures involving needles: a systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Autor/es
Lluesma-Vidal, Marta; Carcelén González, Raquel; García-Garcés, Laura; Sánchez-López, María Inmaculada; Peyró-Gregori, Loreto; [et al.]Fecha
2022Tipo de documento
articleÁrea/s de conocimiento
Ciencias BiomédicasResumen
Background: Virtual reality (VR) is used as a distraction measure during painful clinical procedures.
Objective: The objective of the study was to collect and analyze the evidence regarding the effectiveness of VR as a tool to
distract children from pain and fear during needle procedures, as compared to standard techniques.
Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed. Studies were those whose main distraction measure was VR
in a sample aged less than 21 years old that evaluated the pain generated by a needle during medical procedures. Databases
included: PubMed, the Web of Science, Scopus, Psycinfo, Cinahl, and Cochrane. Among 665 unique search results, publications
were included if they used VR as a distraction measure and if they evaluated the pain generated by a needle procedure. For the
systematic review, the studies were analyzed by using the CASPe guide and Jadad scale. In the meta-analysis, the effect size of
the studies was analyzed based on the results for pain and fear in children.
Results: A total of 25 studies were included in this systematic review; most of them had reported low methodological quality.
The study sample cohorts ranged from a minimum of 14 participants to a maximum of 220 individuals. In the meta-analysis were
included 10 studies. The global effect of using VR as a distraction measure had significantly reduced pain in children in the
experimental groups (IV=−2.37, 95% CI [−3.20, −1.54]; Z=5.58; p<.001) and fear (IV=−1.26, 95% CI [−1.89, −0.63]; Z=3.92;
p<.001)
Conclusions: The quality of the studies was mostly low. The main limitations are the impossibility of blind both the participants
and healthcare personnel to the VR intervention. The use of VR as a distraction measure is effective in reducing pain and fear in
children during procedures involving needles.
Trial Registration: The systematic review was registered with the Open Science Framework (Osf.io/cd8nr) in October, 2021.