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Clinical Trials/NCT03435367
NCT03435367
Completed
Not Applicable

Immersive Virtual Reality to Reduce Procedural Pain During IV Insertion in Children in the Emergency Department: A Feasibility Pilot Study

The Hospital for Sick Children1 site in 1 country58 target enrollmentFebruary 1, 2018

Overview

Phase
Not Applicable
Intervention
Not specified
Conditions
IV Insertion in the Emergency Department
Sponsor
The Hospital for Sick Children
Enrollment
58
Locations
1
Primary Endpoint
Change in Pain Intensity
Status
Completed
Last Updated
6 years ago

Overview

Brief Summary

Venipuncture and intravenous (IV) access continue to be the most common causes of pain and distress among children in the pediatric emergency department. Virtual reality has been successful for reducing pain and fear in many clinical scenarios, including port access in oncology patients, anxiety disorders, phobias, burn and wound care and others. There is only one previous study examining virtual reality distraction to reduce procedural pain during IV insertion in pediatric patients and no previous studies examining this in the emergency department setting. In this study, the investigators will compare immersive virtual reality (an interactive underwater environment) to the current standard (tablet device/iPad playing a movie) for distraction to reduce procedural pain during IV insertion. The investigators hypothesize that the immersive quality of the virtual reality will reduce patient's pain scores, fear scores and tachycardia during and after the procedure, and have minimal effect on departmental flow and nursing satisfaction. If this feasibility pilot study yields positive results, the investigators plan to expand to a larger randomized control trial.

Detailed Description

This study is a pilot randomized control trial that aims to (a) to determine the differences in self-reported and proxy-reported pain and fear during IV insertion between the interactive VR intervention and control group, and (b) to assess the feasibility (safety, acceptability) of the VR intervention to children/families and the healthcare team in the pediatric emergency department. The study will consist of two study arms, where both study arms will be screened and recruited using the same procedure. Participants will be randomized into either (1) Control group: child life specialist plays an age-appropriate video on a tablet device, or (2) Intervention (VR Distraction): child life specialist facilitates immersive VR experience. Both the intervention and control groups will receive standard medical care (e.g., topical anesthetics). A convenience sample of 80 children and adolescents with cancer (40 participants per treatment arm; 20 boys and 20 girls per treatment arm) will be recruited. In addition to usual care, children in the experimental condition will wear the VR headset plus headphones. In the control condition, children will watch a video (i.e., an age-appropriate video selected by an emergency department affiliated child life specialist) on an iPad, while wearing the same headphones as in the experimental condition. Implementation outcomes include accrual and retention rates, acceptability and technical difficulties. Effectiveness outcomes include child pain, distress, and fear, as well as parent distress.

Registry
clinicaltrials.gov
Start Date
February 1, 2018
End Date
September 30, 2019
Last Updated
6 years ago
Study Type
Interventional
Study Design
Parallel
Sex
All

Investigators

Responsible Party
Principal Investigator
Principal Investigator

Jennifer Stinson

Principal Investigator

The Hospital for Sick Children

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

  • Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

  • Not provided

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in Pain Intensity

Time Frame: Baseline, 30 minutes after baseline

Using an 11 point Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) (0 being no distress at all and 10 being the most distress you can imagine this child or you having) children will self-report their pain and parents, nurses and the researcher will report children's pain BOTH prior to and following the procedure.

Change in Child Fear

Time Frame: Baseline, 30 minutes after baseline

Children will report fear BOTH prior to and following the procedure using the Child Fear Scale (CFS) which is a 5-face visual scale that measures fear intensity and is validated in children as young as 5 years. It consists of a 1-question scale rating fear from 0 - 4, based on the faces provided. A higher number represents higher fear intensity.

Child Pain Catastrophizing

Time Frame: Baseline

Children will report baseline tendencies to catastrophize about pain using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale - Child (PCS-C). This is a self-report measure of children's tendency to catastrophize about pain validated in children 8-18 years of age. 6-items responded to on an 11-point scale from 0 ("not at all") to 10 ("a lot"), with a higher number representing higher pain catastrophizing.

Parent Distress

Time Frame: 30 minutes after baseline measures are completed

Parents will report on their own level of distress following the child's procedure using the Parent Distress Questionnaire. This measure consists of 4-items responded to on an 11-point numeric rating scale from 0 ("not at all") to 10 ("extremely"). A higher number value represents higher distress levels.

Change in Child Distress

Time Frame: Baseline, 30 minutes after baseline

Using an 11 point Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) (0 being no distress at all and 10 being the most distress you can imagine this child or you having) children will self-report their distress and parents, nurses and the researcher will report children's distress BOTH prior to and following the procedure

Child Presence Measure

Time Frame: 30 minutes after baseline measures are completed

This child self-report measure assesses effectiveness of the immersive aspect of the VR toolkit/iPad using 12 questions, a choice of three answers ("no", "a little", and "a lot").

Parent Pain Catastrophizing

Time Frame: Baseline

Parents will report baseline tendencies to catastrophize about their child's pain using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale - Parent (PCS-P), which is a self-report measure of parents' tendency to catastrophize about their child's pain validated in parents of children 8-18 years of age. 6-items responded to on an 11-point scale from 0 ("not at all") to 10 ("a lot"), with a higher number representing higher parental pain catastrophizing of their child's pain.

Secondary Outcomes

  • Recruitment log(through study completion, an average of 1 year)
  • Outcome measure feasibility(through study completion, an average of 1 year)
  • Technical Difficulties Log(through study completion, an average of 1 year)
  • Acceptability(30 minutes after baseline measures are completed)

Study Sites (1)

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