Background

Delirium prevention requires optimal management of pain and anxiety. Given the limitations of current pharmacologic interventions, evaluation of novel non-pharmacological interventions is required. Virtual reality (VR) stimulation may be a promising intervention because of its capability to reduce psychophysiological stress, pain, and anxiety and to restore cognitive and attentional capacities.

Objective

To ascertain patients’ and providers’ perceptions of acceptability and safety of VR intervention in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods

We enrolled a cohort of 15 ICU patients and 21 health care providers to administer a 15-minute session showing a relaxing beach scene with VR headsets and nature sound effects. Participants were then asked to rate their experiences on a Likert scale survey.

Results

The majority of patients (86%, 12 of 14) rated the headsets as moderately to very comfortable. All had moderate or greater sense of presence in the virtual environment, and 79% (11 of 14) rated their overall experience at 3 or greater (5 indicating that they enjoyed it very much). Seventy-one percent (10 of 14) of the patients felt that their anxiety was better with VR, and 57% (8 of 14) did not notice a change in their pain or discomfort. All health care providers found the headset to be at least moderately comfortable and felt a moderate or greater sense of presence. All providers concluded that VR therapy should be available for their patients. Both groups experienced minimal side effects.

Conclusion

In this prospective study of perceptions of VR therapy for ICU patients and health care providers, there was a high level of acceptance, with minimal side effects, for both groups despite their low levels of prior experience with virtual reality and video gaming.

中文翻译：

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重症监护病房虚拟现实干预的可行性

背景

预防谵妄需要对疼痛和焦虑进行最佳管理。鉴于当前药物干预的局限性，需要对新型非药物干预进行评估。虚拟现实 (VR) 刺激可能是一种很有前途的干预措施，因为它能够减少心理生理压力、疼痛和焦虑，并恢复认知和注意力能力。

客观的

确定患者和提供者对重症监护病房 (ICU) VR 干预的可接受性和安全性的看法。

方法

我们招募了一组 15 名 ICU 患者和 21 名医疗保健提供者来管理一个 15 分钟的会议，通过 VR 耳机和自然音效展示令人放松的海滩场景。然后要求参与者在李克特量表调查中对他们的经历进行评分。

结果

大多数患者（86%，14 名患者中的 12 名）认为头戴式耳机非常舒适。所有人在虚拟环境中都有中等或更高的存在感，79%（14 人中的 11 人）将他们的整体体验评为 3 或更高（5 表示他们非常喜欢）。71%（14 人中的 10 人）的患者认为 VR 使他们的焦虑有所缓解，57%（14 人中的 8 人）没有注意到他们的疼痛或不适发生变化。所有医疗保健提供者都认为耳机至少具有适度的舒适度，并具有适度或更高的临场感。所有提供者都认为 VR 疗法应该适用于他们的患者。两组都经历了最小的副作用。

结论

在这项关于 ICU 患者和医疗保健提供者对 VR 疗法的看法的前瞻性研究中，尽管这两组人之前对虚拟现实和视频游戏的体验不高，但他们的接受度很高，副作用很小。