Effects of Virtual Reality on Preoperative Anxiety in Adult Patients: An Updated Meta-analysis

Abstract

PurposeTo determine the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) on preoperative anxiety in adult patients. DesignA systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. MethodsA systematic search was carried out using PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, PsycINFO, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WANFANG DATA, Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database (VIP), and Sino-Med from inception to December 18, 2022. All eligible randomized controlled trials published were included (published in English and Chinese). The Cochrane Collaboration “Risk of Bias” tool was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. Review Manager software 5.4 was used for data analysis. FindingsNine studies with sample sizes ranging from 72 to 255 and 1,046 participants were identified. The results of the meta-analysis showed that VR significantly reduced preoperative anxiety in adults (standardized mean difference = −0.48, 95% CI: −0.93 to −0.03, P = .04). Our results suggested that VR improved postoperative satisfaction scores more effectively compared with control care (mean difference = 15.29, 95% CI: 6.25 to 24.33, P = .0009). ConclusionsStudy results support that VR has a positive effect in reducing preoperative anxiety in adults. VR can also significantly improve patients' satisfaction after surgery. However, the results need to be further assessed due to the small sample sizes and high heterogeneity.