A new systematic review and meta-analysis looked at whether virtual reality (VR) can help reduce acute pain in children. The analysis included nine studies, all of which tested VR interventions in children 18 years or younger. The main goal was to see if VR lowered self-reported pain compared to standard care.
The results showed that VR had a moderate effect on reducing self-reported pain, but this effect was not statistically significant. Similarly, when observers reported pain, the effect was large but still not statistically significant. This means that while VR might seem promising, the evidence is not strong enough to say it works better than standard care.
The review did not report any safety concerns, such as side effects or why some children might have stopped using VR. However, the lack of significant results means more research is needed. Future studies should focus on pain as the main outcome and look at how different types of VR, timing, and age affect results.
For now, VR remains an area of interest but not a proven treatment for acute pain in children. Parents and healthcare providers should not rely on VR alone for pain management. More high-quality studies are needed before VR can be recommended as a standard pain relief tool.