Virtual reality and hypnosis for symptom alleviation before bone marrow procedure.

Area of Science:

• Hematology
• Medical Psychology

Background:

• Bone marrow aspiration biopsy (BMAB) procedures often induce significant patient anxiety, negatively impacting the overall patient experience.
• Mind-body interventions are increasingly explored to mitigate procedural distress in clinical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of hypnosis and virtual reality (VR) compared to standard care in reducing patient concerns before BMAB.
• To assess the immediate and post-procedure effects of these interventions on patient anxiety levels.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory, open-label, randomized-controlled trial involving 67 adult patients undergoing BMAB.
• Patients were randomized to receive a 7-minute hypnosis session, an immersive VR experience, or standard care immediately prior to the procedure.
• Patient concerns were measured using the Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCAW) questionnaire at baseline, post-intervention, and post-procedure.

Main Results:

• The VR group showed a significant immediate decrease in MYCAW scores compared to the control group, even after adjusting for baseline differences (p=0.003).
• This immediate benefit of VR did not persist post-procedure (p=0.62).
• Younger, less comorbid, and highly absorptive patients experienced the greatest benefit from VR (p<0.001). No significant differences in physiological variables were observed, though a trend towards lower sedation in the VR group was noted.

Conclusions:

• Virtual reality (VR) offers an immediate benefit in alleviating patient concerns prior to bone marrow aspiration biopsy (BMAB).
• These findings support the integration of mind-body interventions like VR into hematology practice.
• Further adequately powered trials are warranted to confirm these exploratory findings and optimize patient care.