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Use of virtual reality in children undergoing surgery
Sabiha Bezgin1, İrem Hüzmeli1, Nihan Katayıfçı1,2
1Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Türkiye.
Insights
Early mobilization with virtual reality improved maximal expiratory pressure in children after surgery. This approach enhances respiratory function, offering a novel alternative to conventional physiotherapy for pediatric surgical recovery.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Respiratory Physiology
Background:
- Early mobilization and exercise are crucial for mitigating respiratory complications post-surgery in children.
- Conventional physiotherapy is a standard approach, but its efficacy can be enhanced.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of early mobilization incorporating virtual reality (VR) versus conventional physiotherapy on pulmonary function, dyspnea, exercise capacity, pain, and kinesiophobia in pediatric surgical patients.
- To evaluate VR as an adjunct or alternative to traditional methods for improving post-operative recovery in children.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 27 children (aged 5-18) undergoing various surgeries.
- Participants were assigned to either conventional physiotherapy or VR-enhanced physiotherapy, starting post-anesthesia and continuing for two days.
- Outcome measures included pulmonary function tests, respiratory muscle strength, dyspnea, exercise capacity, dynamic balance, pain, and kinesiophobia, assessed pre-surgery and pre-discharge by a blinded physiotherapist.
Main Results:
- Both groups showed an increase in maximum inspiratory pressure.
- The virtual reality group demonstrated a significant increase in maximum expiratory pressure (p=0.01).
- No significant differences were observed between groups for dyspnea, exercise capacity, dynamic balance, pain, or kinesiophobia (p>0.05).
Conclusions:
- Early physiotherapy effectively improves respiratory parameters in children post-surgery.
- Virtual reality-assisted early mobilization specifically enhances maximal expiratory pressure in pediatric surgical patients.
- Virtual reality presents a viable alternative method to facilitate mobilization and improve respiratory outcomes in children.
Objective:
Early mobilization and exercise after surgery are very important to reduce the impact on respiratory system function. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of early mobilization with virtual reality and conventional physiotherapy methods on pulmonary function, dyspnea, exercise capacity, pain, and kinesiophobia in children undergoing surgery.
Methods:
Children aged 5-18 years who underwent various surgeries were randomly assigned to either a control group receiving conventional physiotherapy or a virtual reality group receiving additional virtual reality-based interventions. Interventions began on the day of surgery after anesthesia effects subsided and continued twice daily for two days. Outcome measures were performed before surgery and before discharge included pulmonary function tests, respiratory muscle strength, dyspnea, exercise capacity, dynamic balance, pain and kinesiophobia. Randomization was conducted using sealed-envelope drawing, and assessments were performed by a blinded physiotherapist.
Results:
A total of 27 children were included in the study, with 14 children in the control group and 13 children in the virtual reality group. When we analysed the results of pulmonary function tests, we observed that maximum inspiratory pressure increased in both groups, whereas maximum expiratory pressure increased only in the virtual reality group (p = .01). As a result, there was no difference in dyspnea, exercise capacity, dynamic balance, pain, and kinesiophobia in both groups (p > .05).
Conclusion:
In conclusion, we found that early physiotherapy was effective in the respiratory parameters of children undergoing surgery. Early mobilization with virtual reality improved the maximal expiratory pressure of children undergoing surgery. Thus, the virtual reality can serve as an alternative method to facilitate mobilization in children.
Clinical Trial Registration:
ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier (NCT06882382).
