The Effect of Virtual Reality on the Reduction of Pain in Women with an Indication for Outpatient Diagnostic Hysteroscopy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: The cognitive distraction caused by Virtual Reality (VR) seems to cause a decrease both in pain and its perception as in the time spent thinking about possible pain, among anxiety about hysteroscopy procedure. The main objective of this investigation was to evaluate the efficacy of virtual reality for pain relief during outpatient hysteroscopy. Method: A total of 83 patients underwent outpatient diagnostic hysteroscopy in a single-centre, open-label, randomized control trial. Overall, 180 women with medical indication for an outpatient diagnostic hysteroscopy were randomized. Ten were excluded due to the impossibility of entering the endometrial cavity caused by a cervical canal that was not permeable, and 15 did not tolerate the pain at the beginning and during the procedure, excluding themselves from the final model. Finally, 154 were analysed per protocol to use VR (n = 82, study group) or standard treatment (n = 72, control group) assessing the differences between both groups by reduction in pain using Visual Analogue Scale score (VAS: 0–10 cm) and clinical data (arterial pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation) at the end of hysteroscopy, at 15 and 30 min after hysteroscopy. Results: Women with VR outpatient diagnostic hysteroscopy experienced less pain at final (VAS score 2.451 vs. 3.972, standard mean difference (SMD) −1.521, 95% CI −2.601 to −0.440; p = 0.006), at 15 min (VAS 1.769 vs. 3.300, SMD −1.531, 95% CI −2.557 to −0.504; p = 0.004), and at 30 min (VAS 1.621 vs. 2.719, SMD −1.099, 95% CI −2.166 to −0.031; p = 0.044) after the ending of the hysteroscopy, compared with no VR. Conclusions: The use of VR during outpatient diagnostic hysteroscopy proved effective in the reduction of pain in this randomized control trial. It shows wide potential role in ambulatory gynaecologic procedures to avoid repeating tests, perform surgeries without anaesthesia, and the use of medication and its side effects.

Keywords

• hysteroscopy
• outpatients
• virtual reality
• visual analogue scale
• pain perception