The effect of virtual reality technology on preoperative anxiety in children: a Solomon four-group randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Preoperative anxiety correlates positively with the amount of postoperative pain, analgesic use, and length of hospital stay. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of virtual reality technology on pre-operative anxiety in children. METHODS: The study utilized Solomon four-group design intervention and a randomized clinical trial. A total of 40 candidates undergoing abdominal surgery were randomly divided into two groups. The pre-operative anxiety scale was assessed by a checklist containing a standardized Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale questionnaire. The interventional group had a 5-min exposure to the operating room using virtual reality technology, but the control group did not receive virtual reality exposure. The data were analyzed using SPSS-23 software. RESULTS: Non-parametric test for two independent groups showed no significant difference in baseline scores between interventional 1 and control 1 groups except for vocalization (p = 0.019), but there was a significant change in all subscales among intervention group 1 from baseline to post-test (p < 0.05) except for state of apparent arousal. CONCLUSIONS: The medical treatment using virtual reality technology, as well as distraction and drowning in the virtual reality, reduced pre-operative anxiety in children.