@article{guingo_efficacy_2025,

title = {Efficacy of Virtual Reality vs. Tablet Games for Pain and Anxiety in Children Undergoing Bone Pins Removal: Randomised Clinical Trial},

author = {E. Guingo and M. H. Debeurme and R. P. Santos and S. Addab and P. Rainville and S. Bouchard and K. Chougui and A. Tsimicalis and M. -L. Nault and T. Ducruet and O. Ledjiar and M. Noel and K. St-Arneault and C. Cotes-Turpin and N. Hung and P. Ouimet and S. Parent and J. Gardner and M. Bernstein and S. Le May},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105004216228&doi=10.1111%2fjan.16991&partnerID=40&md5=4862f57a6a524f825f04fb1a70bb5a21},

doi = {10.1111/jan.16991},

issn = {03092402 (ISSN)},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-01-01},

journal = {Journal of Advanced Nursing},

abstract = {Aims: To verify the efficacy of virtual reality compared to tablet games for pain and anxiety management in children undergoing percutaneous bone pin and/or suture removal procedures. Design: Randomised clinical trial using two parallel groups: (1) virtual reality or (2) tablet game. Methods: Three-center, randomised pragmatic clinical trial, using a parallel design with two groups (experimental group: immersive virtual reality; active comparator: tablet games). Children aged 6–17 requiring percutaneous pins and/or sutures were recruited between 2020 and 2022 from three outpatient orthopaedic clinics in paediatric hospitals. Pain was measured with the Numerical Rating Scale and anxiety with the Child Fear Scale before and immediately after the procedure. Results: A total of 188 participants were assigned to either the virtual reality group (96 participants) or the tablet group (92 participants). At the first assessment, there was no noticeable difference between the two groups in terms of pain or anxiety levels. However, further analysis revealed that participants aged 13 and older in the virtual reality group experienced significantly lower anxiety. Conclusion: Virtual reality was not more efficacious than games on a tablet for pain and anxiety of children undergoing removal of bone pins or sutures. However, virtual reality demonstrated a benefit in reducing anxiety for teenagers, particularly those aged 13-older. Implication for the Professional and/or Patient Care: Virtual reality games provide an immersive, non-pharmacological alternative of for anxiety management of teenagers during pins and/or sutures removal. Impact: This study showed that a virtual reality game may help reduce anxiety during pins and/or sutures removal procedures in patients aged 13 years and older. Reporting Method: We adhered to the CONSORT checklist for reporting results. Patient or Public Contribution: A patient partner reviewed the study design, methods and final manuscript. Trial Registration: NCT03680625. © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Advanced Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.},

note = {Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc},

keywords = {Anxiety, Children, Pain Management, procedural pain, virtual reality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{khadra_effects_2020,

title = {Effects of a projector-based hybrid virtual reality on pain in young children with burn injuries during hydrotherapy sessions: A within-subject randomized crossover trial},

author = {C. Khadra and A. Ballard and D. Paquin and C. Cotes-Turpin and H. G. Hoffman and I. Perreault and J. -S. Fortin and S. Bouchard and J. Théroux and S. Le May},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85084390816&doi=10.1016%2fj.burns.2020.04.006&partnerID=40&md5=07c94e6c0d5a26e5c2ead8068f0f7f0c},

doi = {10.1016/j.burns.2020.04.006},

issn = {03054179 (ISSN)},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

journal = {Burns},

volume = {46},

number = {7},

pages = {1571–1584},

abstract = {Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a water-friendly Projector-Based Hybrid Virtual Reality (VR) dome environment combined with standard pharmacological treatment on pain in young children undergoing burn wound care in hydrotherapy. Methods: This study was a prospective, within-subject crossover trial of 38 children aged 6 months to 7 years old (mean age = 1.8 years old). Each hydrotherapy procedure was divided into two equivalent wound care segments (No hybrid VR during one segment vs. Hybrid VR during the other segment, treatment order was randomized). Pain was measured using the 0–10 FLACC (Face, Legs, Activity, Cry Consolability scale) and the 0–10 NRS-obs (Numerical Rating Scale-obs). Results: Projector-Based Hybrid VR significantly reduced procedural pain levels measured by the FLACC (p = 0.026) and significantly increased patients' comfort levels (p = 0.002). Patients' pain levels rated by the nurses using the NRS-obs were non-significant between both groups (p = 0.135). No side effects were reported. Conclusion: Projector-Based Hybrid VR helped in reducing the pain related to hydrotherapy procedures in young children with burn wound injuries. This is the first study using virtual reality distraction with young children, and our findings are especially important because a large percentage of pediatric burn patients are very young. Additional research and development are recommended. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02986464, registered on June 12, 2016. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI},

note = {Publisher: Elsevier Ltd},

keywords = {article, burn, Burns, Child, clinical article, clonidine, complication, controlled study, Cross-Over Studies, crossover procedure, Distraction, Face Legs Activity Cry Consolability scale, female, human, Humans, hydromorphone, hydrotherapy, infant, ketamine, male, midazolam, morphine, numeric rating scale, Pain, pain measurement, paracetamol, Preschool, preschool child, procedural pain, Prospective Studies, prospective study, randomized controlled trial, rating scale, virtual reality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}