Designing and developing a nature-based virtual reality with heart rate variability biofeedback for surgical anxiety...

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is one of the most common joint surgeries, with over a million procedures performed annually in the US. Over 70% of patients report moderate to high pain and anxiety surrounding TKA surgery, and 96% are discharged with an opioid prescription. This population requires special attention as approximately 90% of TKA patients are older adults and one of the riskiest groups prone to misusing opioids. This study aimed to develop and compare the efficacy of nature-based virtual reality (VR) with heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV_BF) to mitigate surgical pain and anxiety.

This randomized control trial recruited 30 patients (mean age = 66.3 ± 8.2 years, 23 F, 7 M) undergoing TKA surgery and randomly assigned to a control, 2D video with HRV_BF, or VR with HRV_BF group. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to measure pain levels before and after the intervention. In addition, a second VAS and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used to measure anxiety before and after the intervention. Electrocardiogram (ECG) was used to continuously measure HRV and respiration rate in preoperative and postoperative settings.

VR and 2D-video with HRV_BF decreased pain and anxiety post-intervention compared with the control group, p's <.01. On analyzing physiological signals, both treatment groups showed greater parasympathetic activity levels, and VR with HRV_BF reduced pain more than the 2D video, p < .01.

Nature-based VR and 2D video with HRV_BF can mitigate surgical pain and anxiety. However, VR may be more efficacious than 2D video in reducing pain.