Virtual reality for pain control during shock wave lithotripsy: a randomized controlled study

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Pain Management
• Medical Technology

Background:

• Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) is an outpatient procedure.
• Patients undergoing SWL may experience significant pain.
• Current pain management strategies for SWL are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of virtual reality (VR) in reducing patient-reported pain during SWL.
• To determine if VR use leads to higher energy levels and improved clinical outcomes in SWL.
• To assess patient comfort levels during SWL with and without VR.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled study (RCT) comparing SWL with VR versus SWL without VR.
• 166 patients were randomized 1:1 into two groups.
• Primary outcome: pain levels (VAS-scores); Secondary outcomes: comfort (Likert-scale), clinical success, and delivered energy.

Main Results:

• Patients in the VR group reported significantly lower pain levels (mean VAS 4.01) compared to the control group (mean VAS 4.94; p=0.011).
• The VR group received significantly higher total delivered energy (55.2 J) than the control group (48.8 J; p=0.037).
• No significant differences were observed in comfort levels or clinical success rates between the groups.

Conclusions:

• Virtual reality is an effective tool for pain relief during SWL.
• VR enables higher energy delivery during SWL without compromising patient comfort.
• While VR improves pain and energy delivery, it did not translate to enhanced clinical success in this study.