Immersive virtual reality in pain management of burn injury – A review

Abstract

Burns are one of the most severe forms of trauma to skin and tissue which results due to contact with hot substances (liquid or solid), radiation, radioactivity, electricity, friction, or contact with chemicals. Every year, nine million people are injured due to fire, heat, and hot substances worldwide, out of which 120,632 die (1.34%). In India, with a population of over 1.3 billion, the registered annual burn admissions are 7,00, 000–8,00, 000. This review is to identify studies on virtual reality (VR) therapy in the management of burn patients in terms of their pain, anxiety, and stress during treatment and rehabilitation, in the context of the scientific world of literature. Literatures from web-based scientific databases, PubMed, Cochrane, MEDLINE, and Clarivate, National Science Library, were searched to identify the studies conducted on the use of VR in the management of pain related to burns and their dressings. Randomized controlled trials and case series were included in this review. All these studies were organized and tabulated according to the methodology and type of interventions done. Few of the studies were also analyzed to present the highlighted current trends in VR and pain management. A brief overview of the observations at this center with the use of VR technology and its role in alleviating pain during the procedures for burn management has also been included. VR is a nonpharmacological complementary strategy with proven benefits in the management of burn patients. The findings of this literature review and analysis demonstrate that the use of VR in burn patients significantly reduces pain during treatment and rehabilitation and averts its consequences. VR can be easily used in the hospital setting and offers a safe, nonpharmacologic adjunctive therapy in the management of burn patients.

Keywords

• anxiety
• burns
• pain
• virtual reality