584120 - Analyzing the Efficacy of VR to mitigate Pain and Anxiety

Learning Objectives:

• Pain and anxiety in the pre and post-operative setting are common phenomena experienced by knee replacement patients. Pain medications (e.g., opioids) are prescribed to mitigate the pain, but excessive use of such medications can increase the likelihood of misuse, often leading to addiction. A prevalent method adopted to help control this epidemic is through the use of non-pharmacological methods of treatment. One of the effective interventions is Virtual Reality because it is immersive and creates more presence for the patient which serves as an acute distraction. VR also affords for an engaging experience integrating multi-sensory channels which garners attention away from the pain or anxiety-ridden environment. This study aims to understand the efficacy of VR intervention in reducing the anxiety and pain among patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery. We conducted a randomized controlled clinical trial between sixty subjects using a VR group, a video intervention group, and a control group. Self-reported measures of anxiety and pain were collected along with physiological measures including heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA) to study the efficacy of VR as acute pain and anxiety management intervention.