Effectiveness of Virtual Reality-Based Pain Control as Compared to Standard Pain Management in Children with Acute Burns: A Meta-Analysis

摘要

Each year approximately 250,000 children require medical attention for burns. Burn pain is often severe and unrelenting, which can lead to a multitude of secondary problems such as long term sensory issues, chronic pain, and debilitating psychological conditions. Although improvements have been made, there is a consensus that burn pain remains grossly undertreated. Virtual reality (VR) has been shown to be effective for pain management in adults with burns, but its effectiveness has not yet been proven in a pediatric population. The U.S National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (PubMed), CINAHL Plus, and ScienceDirect databases were searched systematically using the following search terms: pediatric burns AND virtual reality AND pain. Eight studies met inclusion and exclusion criteria and were analyzed through OpenMeta[Analyst] software using a 2 group design. Statistical analysis demonstrated heterogeneity with statistical significance in favor of the virtual reality group (Q=103.21, p<0.001) with a combined effect size of -1.39 (95% CI: -1.16, -1.63). VR is a safe and efficacious treatment for pain in children with burns and despite heterogeneity between articles, it was found to be superior to standard care for burn pain management. Research in the future should further examine the correlation between level of immersion in VR and level of pain reduction as well as the correlation between pain reduction and faster re-epithelialization times.