TY - JOUR T1 - Implementation of virtual reality technology to decrease patients' pain and nervousness during colonoscopies: a prospective randomised controlled single-blinded trial JF - Clinical Medicine JO - Clin Med SP - 237 LP - 240 DO - 10.7861/clinmed.2022-0001 VL - 22 IS - 3 AU - Qizhi Liu AU - Yunhua Zang AU - Wei Zang AU - Wenpeng Cai AU - Weiwei Li AU - Ya'nan Guo AU - Cheng Xin AU - Xiaohuang Tu Y1 - 2022/05/01 UR - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/22/3/237.abstract N2 - Background Improved patient satisfaction in endoscopy is worthy of study as it is an invasive and potentially uncomfortable procedure. There is growing literature on patient satisfaction assessment in endoscopy as part of improving quality assurance. This study aimed to determine whether virtual reality (VR) technology can decrease patients' pain and nervousness during colonoscopies.Methods Patients enrolled without sedation were randomly categorised into groups that watched VR (VR group; n=58) and those that did not watch VR (control group; n=59). The primary outcomes were pain score and skin conductance. Secondary endpoints included heart rate, systolic and diastolic arterial pressures, overall patient satisfaction, willingness to repeat the procedure, the difficulty of the procedure, the procedure duration, and bowel preparation.Results The median (interquartile range (IQR)) pain scores were 7 (6–8) and 5 (4–6) in the control and VR groups, respectively (p<0.001). The median (IQR) skin conductance values after colonoscope insertion were 0.660 (0.490–0.840) and 0.390 (0.280–0.600) in the control and VR groups, respectively (p<0.001). Overall, patient satisfaction was significantly improved with the use of VR, along with a significant reduction in the difficulty perceived by the endoscopist.Conclusion VR technology helped to reduce patients' pain and nervousness and to improve patients' satisfaction during colonoscopies. ER -