The Influence of Virtual Reality on Pain and Anxiety During Flexible Cystoscopy

To evaluate the efficacy of virtual reality (VR) in alleviating procedural anxiety and pain among patients undergoing flexible cystoscopy in an outpatient setting.

In this prospective comparative study, we assessed whether VR affected patients' pain and anxiety during flexible cystoscopy. Participating patients were allocated to the VR group or the control group using a predefined alternation. Pain was measured by the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS 0-100) and anxiety by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Furthermore, patients completed the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire to evaluate their overall satisfaction with the outpatient visit.

We included 84 patients; 47 in the VR group and 37 in the control group. The median age was 68.5 (IQR 56-76) years, and 72.6% were male. Satisfaction was high in both groups (median CSQ-8 31 [IQR 31-32] in the VR group and 32 [IQR 30-32] in the control group; range 8-32). State anxiety decreased from pre- to post-procedure in both groups. In between-group analyses, VR was not associated with differences in pain (P = .2467), state anxiety (P = .6868), or satisfaction (P = .3209) compared with standard care.

Patients reported high satisfaction with flexible cystoscopy as an outpatient procedure. State of anxiety was higher before than after the procedure in both groups. In our study, the use of VR was not associated with improved pain, anxiety, or satisfaction compared with the standard of care.