Decreasing REcurrent Pain and Anxiety in Medical Procedures With a Pediatric Population: Trial

Plain-language summary

Children with burn injuries experience severe pain intensity during medical procedures despite the increasing doses of analgesics. Current guidelines on pediatric procedural pain management recommend the combination of non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions to enhance pain management and decrease the numerous side effects of analgesics. Virtual reality (VR) has gained growing consideration as a non-pharmacological method as it engages multiple senses and allows interactions with a virtual world. Oculus Rift ® is a new technology in VR that provides more immersiveness, at a relatively low cost, and could probably improve the management of pain and anxiety in burn care. It also has the potential, with appropriate custom software designed for burn pediatric patients, to reduce the cybersickness symptoms (nausea, dizziness) associated with VR. To the knowledge of the investigators, none of the pediatric hospitals across Canada have tested VR as a method of pain and anxiety management in children with burn injuries. Overall hypotheses: VR distraction via Oculus Rift ® could be an effective method to relieve pain, and anxiety, as well as a less traumatizing hospital experience, while promoting a more humanistic care environment by combining new technologies (VR via Oculus Rift ®) to standard analgesic interventions administered to these children. The expected results will have a direct effect on physical (pain) and psychological (anxiety, pain memories) health of the child. In addition, clinical implications may include other indicators of quality of care and economic benefits such as a wider range of motion of burned limbs and reduction in dosage of opioids and anxiolytic drugs administered.

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