Introduction
Performance of diagnostic and operative procedures for gynaecological
conditions in the consultation room setting, is becoming increasingly
commonplace in order to reduce risks of general anaesthetic, decrease
health care costs and increase convenience for both patient and
provider1. Such procedures are usually well tolerated
(reference), can be associated with acute pain and anxiety2 3,45 6. Pain relief options include
sedation, local anaesthetic, analgesics and distraction techniques,
though no consistent good quality evidence exists to underpin
practice7 8 910 11 12.
Virtual reality, a relatively new intervention, has been studied as a
distraction technique for non-pharmacological pain relief. Put simply,
it is a computer-generated representation of an immersive environment
viewed through a headset 13. The cost, quality and
accessibility of virtual reality devices has significantly improved in
recent years and offered novel application in the medical field. Virtual
reality for managing pain has been studied in paediatrics, dentistry,
burns treatment, chronic pain, labour, episiotomy and phobias14–22 23 24.
Although a metaanalysis suggested that VR may have a role in reducing
pain scores in acutely painful procedures, it was found to be effective
only in needles and burns physical therapy. The studies of VR on pain
and anxiety however were limited by clinical and statistical
heterogeneity14 25Nonpharmacological options of pain relief have not explored the role of
virtual reality in reducing pain and improving patient experience in
outpatient hysteroscopy 26. To our knowledge, there
are no publications studying the effects of Virtual Reality in the
management of pain during office gynaecological procedures7
We conducted a randomised controlled trial of virtual reality
intervention as a distraction technique, versus standard care, in
managing acute pain and anxiety during outpatient hysteroscopy.