Effect of virtual reality experience on distress in children admitted to the intensive care unit: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Introduction: Admission of children to the intensive care unit (ICU) can lead to a decline in ageappropriate behaviour and a rise in distress and anxiety. Virtual reality (VR) is a safe, cost-friendly, effective and acceptable treatment for medical or dental treatment related pain and emotional distress but its effect in decreasing distress in children admitted to the ICU is not well studied.Objective: To study the effect of VR experience on distress in children admitted to the ICU.Method: A randomized controlled trial was conducted on 30 children, aged 4-17 years, admitted to paediatric ICU (PICU) with 15 in intervention group and 15 in control group. Intervention group received 7 consecutive days of VR experience lasting 15 minutes. Control group received routine care provided in PICU. Distress was assessed using COMFORT Behaviour scale and anxiety using State Anxiety scale (STAI-CH) pre and post intervention. Results:Children in the intervention group showed a significant decrease in distress with a mean difference of 4.93 ± 2.12 within the intervention group and 3.20 ± 2.21 within the control group. The p-value was 0.0369 which is statistically significant. In the STAI-CH scores, the mean difference within the intervention group was 11.40 ± 5.58 and control group was 6.73 ± 4.50. The p-value was 0.0001 which is statistically significant.