Virtual Reality (VR) Could Be a Good Alternative to Relaxing or Pain-relieving Medication

We want to investigate whether Virtual Reality (VR) could be a good alternative to the relaxing or pain-relieving medications that are often used to alleviate anxiety when patients undergo surgery under local anesthesia.

This study is a randomized controlled trial based on both quantitative and qualitative methods. Inclusion criteria are elderly patients aged ≥65 years with an estimated surgery time of a maximum of 90 minutes, who undergo surgery/treatment under local anesthesia and sedation. Randomization is to either standard sedation or sedation/VR. Randomization is carried out using mixed, sealed envelopes. The studies will be conducted at the following locations: Hallands Hospital, Kungsbacka: Open inguinal hernia surgery with implant, anesthesia type is infiltration anesthesia. Sahlgrenska Hospital: Intervention, cannulation of the groin and vascular surgery performed via catheters/guides on blood vessels, liver, pancreas, and abdominal organs, with anesthesia type infiltration. Alingsås Hospital: Surgery on the hand, arm, lower extremity, urology, with anesthesia type block and infiltration. Data collection will include baseline preoperative stress levels measured with The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) and pain assessment using a numerical rating scale (NRS) from 0-11. We also plan to use an objective marker for measuring anxiety-induced stress perioperatively, such as heart rate variability or skin conductance measurement. Postoperative data will include STAI-S, NRS, intraoperative sedative medication (type and dosage in mg/kg), time to urination, time to oral nutrition, discharge time, and time spent in the postoperative ward. The patient will assess their well-being with the QoR 15 and NRS during the first five days postoperatively. The patient will be contacted to schedule a follow-up individual interview with semi-structured questions via Zoom two weeks after the surgery. The primary outcome effect of VR glasses on mg/kg of propofol used intraoperatively or another sedative drug and/or the amount of local anesthetic used in mg. The secondary outcome effect of VR glasses on anxiety-induced stress perioperatively, where data collection will be conducted using EEG spectral edge frequency and The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S).