Vital Times 2019 - 94

Virtual Reality
in Anesthesiology:
Clinical Applications
and New Frontiers
By Bobak Koohian, MD, and Navid Alem, MD

Introduction

Perioperative & Labor/Delivery

As the science of medicine continues to evolve,
anesthesiologists should remember the art and remain
open to strategies that strive to enhance patient
experiences and outcomes. Virtual reality (VR) is a
budding technology that has enjoyed advancements
in cost, fidelity, and accessibility in recent years. VR
is a computer-generated simulation of an immersive
experience or environment, usually viewed via a portable
headset, that distracts the user via modulation of
perception.

By offering an opportunity to alter the patient's
perception of a stressful environment, perhaps no other
application of VRT is more exciting than its use in the
perioperative realm. In recent years, VR products have
emerged with programming specifically aimed to alleviate
the pain and anxiety associated with intravenous catheter
placement, regional nerve blocks, and percutaneous port
access.1,3 Other proposed endeavors seek to alleviate the
apprehension inherent to anesthesia and the intimidating
operating room environment. These applications have
yielded tangible success, with improvements shown in
patient satisfaction, particularly in pediatric anesthesia.
In one study, Ryu et. al. showed a 30% decrease in
standardized preoperative anxiety scores with the use of
VRT among children undergoing anesthesia.3 Offering
some parallel, the addition of tablet-based distraction
methods has improved pediatric compliance throughout
the perioperative continuum. VRT will hopefully provide
even further enhancement of the pediatric surgical
experience. Likewise, integration of VRT during labor and
delivery has the potential to help comfort the laboring
mother, enhance pain modulation, and guide optimal
breathing for placental perfusion. Indeed, while VRT

In the medical realm, Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT) has
gained momentum in the treatment of pain and anxiety
particularly in children. Specifically, supportive evidence
exists for the use of VRT with procedures such as burn
debridement, wound care, dental treatment, endoscopy,
catheter insertion, and infusion therapy.1 The technology
is relatively safe with rare incidence of adverse events and
fiscally solvent in the inpatient setting via a reduction in
length of stay for treated patients.2 As such, this review
aims to highlight the broad potential for clinical integration
of VR in anesthesiology.

94 | CSA Vital Times
Vital Times 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vital Times 2019
