Researchers conducted a small pilot study to see if playing an augmented reality (AR) scavenger hunt after major surgery could help children use fewer opioid pain medications. The study involved 66 children who were having major operations, most of which were cancer-related surgeries. They compared the AR game to a regular, non-AR version of the same game.
The main goal was to see if the AR game reduced the rate of children still needing opioids 90 days after leaving the hospital. The study found no significant difference: about 6% of children in the AR group and 10% in the non-AR group were still using opioids at that point. There were also no clear differences in other measures like pain levels, how much they moved, or hospital stay length.
This was a pilot study, which means it was designed to test the idea on a small scale first. With only 66 children, it's too small to draw firm conclusions. The overall rate of children needing opioids long-term was low in both groups. More research with larger groups is needed to know if AR games can be a helpful tool for managing pain after surgery.
