Pathology

Neuroscience

Test (biology)

Burn center

Poison control

Rating scale

Biology

Developmental psychology

Surgery

Paleontology

Physical therapy

Psychology

Randomized controlled trial

Distraction

Medical emergency

Clinical trial

Medicine

Pilot and Feasibility Studies

Background Virtual reality (VR) gaming is considered a safe and effective alternative to standard pain alleviation in the hospital. This study addressed the potential effectiveness and feasibility of a VR game that was developed by our research team for repeated at-home burn dressing changes. Methods A randomized clinical trial was conducted among patients recruited from the outpatient burn clinic of a large American Burn Association–verified pediatric burn center between September 2019 and June 2021. We included English-speaking burn patients aged 5–17 years old requiring daily dressing changes for at least 1 week after first outpatient dressing change. One group played an interactive VR game during dressing changes, while the other utilized standard distraction techniques available in the home for up to a week. Both child and caretaker were asked to assess perceived pain on a numerical rating scale (NRS) of 0–10. For the VR group, patients were also asked to rate various aspects of the VR game on a NRS of 0–10 and caregivers were asked questions assessing ease of use. Results A total of 35 children were recruited for this study with 24 fully completing study measures. The majority of participants were male ( n =19, 54.3%), White ( n =29, 82.9%), and with second degree burns ( n =32, 91.4%). Children and caregivers in the VR group reported less pain than the control group at the 4th dressing change. Participants in the VR group showed a clinically meaningful (≥30%) reduction in child-reported overall pain (33.3%) and caregiver-reported worst pain (31.6%) in comparison with subjects in the control group. Children’s satisfaction with the VR remained at a high level across dressing changes over the 1-week period, with reported realism and engagement increasing over time. Over half of the children (54.5%) enjoyed playing the game and did not report any challenges nor any side effects. Conclusions Subjects found the VR to be a useful distraction during home dressing changes and reported no challenges/side effects. VR should be considered as a nonpharmacologic companion for pain management during at-home burn dressing changes. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04548635. Registered September 14, 2020—retrospectively registered

Mobile phone virtual reality game for pediatric home burn dressing pain management: a randomized feasibility clinical trial