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Review
. 2023 Jan 20;12(3):843.
doi: 10.3390/jcm12030843.

The Emerging Role of Virtual Reality as an Adjunct to Procedural Sedation and Anesthesia: A Narrative Review

Rita Hitching  1 , Hunter G Hoffman  2   3 , Azucena Garcia-Palacios  4 , Maheen M Adamson  5   6 , Esmeralda Madrigal  7 , Wadee Alhalabi  3   8   9 , Ahad Alhudali  8 , Mariana Sampaio  10   11 , Barry Peterson  12 , Miles R Fontenot  13 , Keira P Mason  14
Affiliations
Review

The Emerging Role of Virtual Reality as an Adjunct to Procedural Sedation and Anesthesia: A Narrative Review

Rita Hitching et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, there has been a significant reduction in the incidence of adverse events associated with sedation outside of the operating room. Non-pharmacologic techniques are increasingly being used as peri-operative adjuncts to facilitate and promote anxiolysis, analgesia and sedation, and to reduce adverse events. This narrative review will briefly explore the emerging role of immersive reality in the peri-procedural care of surgical patients. Immersive virtual reality (VR) is intended to distract patients with the illusion of "being present" inside the computer-generated world, drawing attention away from their anxiety, pain, and discomfort. VR has been described for a variety of procedures that include colonoscopies, venipuncture, dental procedures, and burn wound care. As VR technology develops and the production costs decrease, the role and application of VR in clinical practice will expand. It is important for medical professionals to understand that VR is now available for prime-time use and to be aware of the growing body in the literature that supports VR.

Keywords: analgesia; anesthesia; non-pharmacologic; sedation; virtual reality.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A pediatric burn patient using VR analgesia during a painful medical procedure. Photo and copyright Hunter Hoffman, www.vrpain.com accessed on 28 November 2022.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Some VR systems have been customized to be used during wound care during wound debridement. Some patients have face or head burns that cause it to be difficult to wear traditional head-mounted VR goggles. The “articulated arm” shown above holds the goggles near the patient’s eyes, with little or no contact with the patient [35]. Photo and copyright Hunter Hoffman, www.vrpain.com, accessed on 28 November 2022.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The most recent version of SnowWorld, image by Ari Hollander and Howard Rose, copyright Hunter Hoffman, www.vrpain.com, accessed on 28 November 2022. SnowWorld is the first immersive virtual reality world specifically designed for pain reduction. www.vrpain.com, accessed on 28 November 2022.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Above right is a photo of the Meta Quest2 VR helmet. This lightweight helmet weighs only 17.7 ounces, is wireless, and uses cameras to optically track head and hand movements. Image on left shows a screenshot from an optically hand-tracked game named Waltz of the Wizard, aldin.com, accessed on 28 November 2022, photo on right by Hunter Hoffman, both images copyright Hunter Hoffman, www.vrpain.com, accessed on 28 November 2022.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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