Complement Ther Med: The VR program can be used as an aid for pain control during peri-surgical periods.

Pain control and overuse of anesthetics after surgery can be challenging for surgeons in all fields.
virtual reality (VR) has been increasingly used in various fields, its feasibility and effectiveness during peri-surgical period has not been evaluated.
study aims to examine the experience of integrating VR protocols in peri-surgical environments, the results of which were published online in Complement Ther Med.
patients undergoing minimally invascopic pre-surgery at an institution are randomly assigned to a range of VR meditation/mind therapy (VR) or postoperative standard care (non-VR).
patients' postoperative pain levels, anaesthetic use, and satisfaction.
results were included in 52 patients, 26 in each group.
differences in postoperative pain scores, total anaesthetic utilization and overall satisfaction scores were found in the two groups.
for patients with VR arm, the course of treatment is able to be routine during surgery with little interference.
majority (73.9%) were able to complete all six VR sessions and reported low scores for pain, anxiety and nausea when using the device.
a large proportion of people said they would use VR again (76.2%) or would like to have a VR program for pain (62.0%).
no complications associated with the use of the device.
, the results show that VR is a safe and simple intervention associated with high patient satisfaction and can be implemented in peri-surgical settings.
current research is not enough to detect differences in anaesthetic use, the device is expected to be an aid to peri-surgical multi-mode pain and anxiety control.
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