Virtual reality in pain relief during chronic wound dressing change

This is an experimental study carried out with 17 participants, in a stomatherapy clinic in Ceará, Brazil, from June to December 2019, using the virtual reality glasses Oculus Go^®. Sociodemographic and clinical information, as well as of lifestyle, and characteristics of the lesions were collected. A faces scale and a visual analogue scale were used for pain assessment, behavioral aspects assessment, satisfaction, and discomfort with Oculus Go^®. The Chi-square, McNemar, and Wilcoxon tests were used. The study was approved under opinion No. 2.649.144/2019.

Results:

There was a reduction in pain during dressing change with Oculus Go^®. Participants with Oculus Go^® manifested less pain during (p < 0.001) and after (p < 0.001) dressing change; and had lower heart rate before (p = 0.044) and after (p = 0.001) the procedure. There were significant differences between groups in systolic (p = 0.012) and diastolic (p = 0.004) blood pressure values after dressing. Virtual reality did not cause any discomfort and participants were satisfied.

Conclusion:

Virtual reality showed positive effects in pain relief during chronic wound dressing change.

DESCRIPTORS
Virtual Reality; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Pain; Wounds and Injuries; Patient Satisfaction

Variables	no VR	with VR	p value^† †Wilcoxon Test.
Variables	Median (1^st–3^rd quartiles)		p value^† †Wilcoxon Test.
Heart rate	89 (84–92)	82 (76–89)	0.044
Systolic blood pressure	136 (124–148)	140 (128–142)	0.203
Diastolic blood pressure	90 (84–92)	90 (86–92)	0.102
Temperature	37 (36,37)	37 (36,37)	1.000
Oximetry	98 (97–99)	98 (97–99)	0.180
Pain intensity	6 (4–7)	5 (4–7)	0.088
Worst pain in the last 24 hours	7 (6–9)	7 (6–8)	1.000
Mildest pain in the last 24 hours	5 (3–7)	4 (3–7)	1.000

Variables	no VR	with VR	p value^† †McNemar Test.
Variables	n (%)	n (%)	p value^† †McNemar Test.
Typical facial expression of pain	9 (52.9)	2 (11.8)	0.016
Altered body movement	10 (58.8)	3 (17.6)	0.065
Protective posture	7 (41.2)	1 (5.9)	0.031
Sweating	3 (17.6)	2 (11.8)	1.000
Pallor	1 (5.9)	0 (0)	–
Pain intensity	8 (6–9.5)	1 (0–2.5)	<0.001

Variables	no VR	with VR	p value^† †Wilcoxon Test.
Variables	Median (1^st–3^rd quartiles)		p value^† †Wilcoxon Test.
Heart rate	89 (85–92)	80 (76–82)	0.001
Systolic blood pressure	136 (128–148)	130 (124–140)	0.012
Diastolic blood pressure	90 (88–92)	88 (80–90)	0.004
Temperature	37 (36,37)	36 (36,37)	0.083
Oximetry	98 (97–99)	98 (97–99)	0.317
Pain intensity	05 (5–8)	01 (0–2)	<0.001

Variables	n (%)
Satisfaction
Extremely satisfied	11 (64.7)
Very satisfied	6 (35.3)
Discomfort
Absent	16 (94.1)
A little bit	1 (5.8)

Universidade de São Paulo, Escola de Enfermagem Av. Dr. Enéas de Carvalho Aguiar, 419 , 05403-000 São Paulo - SP/ Brasil, Tel./Fax: (55 11) 3061-7553, - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: reeusp@usp.br

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[1] Corresponding author: Maria Girlane Sousa Albuquerque Brandão, Rua L Quatro, 428, Jerônimo de Medeiros Prado, 62044-190 – Sobral, CE, Brazil, girlanealbuquerque@usp.br