Evaluation of Technology-Based Distractions In Pediatric Patients During General Surgery Minor Procedures

Study population. Patients ages 7-18 undergoing minor surgical procedures at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital will be recruited. Minor surgical procedures include hormone implant placement/removal/exchange, cecostomy tube exchange, incision and drainage of superficial soft tissue abscesses excluding the perineum and buttock, excision of benign masses <2cm on the extremity (e.g. sebaceous cyst, pilomatricoma, lipoma, etc), and foreign body removal from superficial wounds. Exclusion criteria include those with significant cognitive impairment, history of motion sickness, history of seizures, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) <15, currently taking anxiety medication or narcotics, facial trauma, clinically unstable or require urgent/emergent intubation, claustrophobia, and visual or auditory impairment. The investigators aim to enroll at least 200 patients into the study.

Intervention. Research coordinators will recruit patients and their families prior to their schedule procedures. Informed consent and assent will be obtained from participants and their caregivers when a patient is a minor. Demographic information will be collected from all participants. Patients will complete pre-procedural survey for pain and anxiety. Parents will complete a survey that documents their perception of their child's anxiety level. Patients will be randomly assigned to a treatment arm.

Patients assigned to the general anesthesia arm will have a child life specialist in the pre-procedural period per hospital routine. Anesthesia will be administered at the discretion of the anesthesiologist. Once the procedure is completed, the patient will recover and be monitored in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) per hospital guidelines.

Patients assigned to the virtual reality arm will be instructed on how to use the handheld system. A trained research coordinator or child life specialist will be with the patient during the procedure to help with any issues that may arise. They will document any interfering behaviors during the procedure. After the procedure, the patient will be monitored in the PACU per hospital guidelines.

All patients will complete the post-procedural survey for pain and anxiety. Patients, parents and the surgeon will also complete satisfaction surveys.