Can virtual reality reduce pain and anxiety in pediatric emergency care and promote positive response of parents of children? A quasi-experimental study

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of virtual reality to reduce pain and anxiety in pediatric patients during venipuncture procedure in emergency care and the behavioral response of their parents/companions. Background: Virtual reality is being used as a source of distraction in children undergoing invasive procedures. Methods: Quasi-experimental study with 458 children (from 2 to 15 years) who attended a pediatric emergency service from September 2019 to April 2021. An intervention based on virtual reality as a distraction method during venipuncture procedure was applied. The level of pain and anxiety of children and attitude of parents/ companions were assessed. Ordinal and binary logistic regressions were applied. Results: A protective effect of using virtual reality was observed in the intervention group both for the absence of pain (− 4.12; 95 % CI: − 4.85 to − 3.40) and anxiety (− 1.71; 95 % CI: − 2.24 to − 1.17) in children aged between 2 and 15 years. A significant reduction in the blocking response of the accompanying parents (− 2.37; 95 % CI: − 3.017 to − 1.723) was also observed. Conclusions: VR is effective in reducing pain and anxiety in children during venipuncture in emergency care. A positive attitude of the parents during the invasive procedure to their children was found.