Pain Assessment Using Virtual Reality Facemask During Bone Marrow Aspiration: Prospective Study Including...

Area of Science:

• Medical procedures
• Pain management
• Virtual reality applications

Background:

• Bone marrow aspiration (BMA) is crucial for diagnosing and monitoring hematological disorders.
• BMA is often associated with significant patient anxiety and pain.
• Effective pain management strategies for BMA are needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of immersive virtual reality facemasks (VRF) on pain experienced during bone marrow aspiration.
• To assess if VRF can serve as an effective intervention for procedural pain and anxiety.

Main Methods:

• An observational, prospective, monocentric study involving 105 patients undergoing sternal BMA with lidocaine anesthesia.
• Patients were divided into two periods: one group received VRF, while the control group did not.
• Pain intensity was measured using a 10-point numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) post-procedure, with analysis on a propensity score-matched cohort.

Main Results:

• The final matched cohort comprised 12 patients in the VRF group and 24 in the control group.
• No significant difference in pre-procedure anxiety levels was observed between the VRF and control groups.
• The study found no statistically significant difference in NPRS scores between patients who used VRF and those who did not (P=.09).

Conclusions:

• This study did not demonstrate the efficacy of virtual reality facemasks in reducing pain during bone marrow aspiration.
• VRF did not prove to be an effective tool for pain management in this specific procedural context.
• Further investigation into alternative or refined VR interventions for BMA pain may be warranted.