VR application reduced pain and increased comfort after thyroid or parathyroid surgery in small RCT

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of virtual reality (VR) application on pain management, comfort, and care satisfaction in patients undergoing thyroidectomy-parathyroidectomy. DESIGN: This study was a randomized controlled experimental study including control and intervention groups. METHODS: The research was conducted at a university hospital with a total of 69 patients who underwent planned thyroidectomy or parathyroidectomy. The intervention group consisted of 34 patients, whereas the control group consisted of 35 patients. Patients were randomly allocated to the intervention and control groups. Patients in the intervention group were shown a VR video displaying nature and sea images and containing background music for 15 minutes on the first day after the surgery. Patients' pain levels assessed before the procedure were re-evaluated at the end of the VR application. In the control group, pain assessment was made at the 0th and 15th minutes. After pain assessments, patients' comfort and satisfaction levels were also evaluated. Data were assessed using descriptive statistical methods, t test, variance analysis, and correlation analysis, with a 95% confidence interval, significance set at P less than .05. FINDINGS: While the decrease in pain levels assessed before and after the intervention was statistically significant in both groups, there was a difference between the groups in terms of pain and comfort levels after the intervention. In the intervention group, pain levels were lower and comfort levels were higher after the VR application. In the control group, there was a negative relationship between postoperative pain and comfort. CONCLUSIONS: VR applications after thyroidectomy-parathyroidectomy can be an auxiliary method that can increase patients' comfort by contributing to effective pain management of the patients. VR applications can be used as a simple and risk-free method in nursing care, which aims to provide postoperative pain management and patient comfort. New studies should be conducted with larger samples examining the effectiveness of VR application in different surgical interventions.