Virtual Reality for Pain Reduction During Transvaginal Ultrasound in Women With Endometriosis: A Randomized
Aviad Cohen1, Ishai Levin1, Yoni Cohen1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lis Hospital for Women's Health, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Affiliated to Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Objective:
To evaluate whether virtual reality (VR) glasses reduce pain perception during transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) in women with endometriosis.
Design:
Open-label randomized controlled trial.
Setting:
University-affiliated medical center.
Participants:
A total of 117 premenopausal women with a confirmed diagnosis of endometriosis.
Interventions:
TVUS performed with or without the use of immersive VR glasses.
Results:
A total of 117 women were randomized to either the VR group (n = 58) or the control group (n = 59). Although mean pain scores were not significantly different (VR: 3.2 ± 2.6 vs. control: 4.0 ± 3.0; p = 0.08), moderate-to-severe pain was reported less frequently in the VR group (33.9% vs. 55.2%; p = 0.027). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, VR use (OR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.10-0.63; p = 0.0027), current pain [odds ratio (OR) = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.02-1.69], and anticipated pain (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.00-1.49) were shown to be independent predictors of moderate-to-severe pain during TVUS. Among women with high anticipated pain [Numeric rating scale (NRS) ≥ 4], the VR group reported significantly lower actual pain scores compared to controls [3.0 (1.0-5.0) vs. 6.0 (4.0-7.5), respectively, p = 0.037].
Conclusion:
Use of VR during TVUS in women with endometriosis reduced the frequency of moderate-to-severe pain and mitigated the impact of anticipated pain on pain perception. VR may be a beneficial non-pharmacologic adjunct in pelvic imaging for women with endometriosis.
Trial Registration Number:
NCT04711408.
