Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT04579354

Virtual Reality (VR) Tour to Reduce Preoperative Anxiety Before Anaesthesia

Anxiety and apprehension are common among patients prior to surgery. This anxiety can lead to additional discomfort, increased pain sensation and increased stress symptoms. Virtual exposure has proven to be successful in exposure therapy for the treatment of the narrowest patients. Patients are not confronted with the real stimuli or situations that trigger the branches, but with virtual representations of them. Virtual reality (VR) makes it possible to create scenarios that would not be possible in reality because of the organisational, time or financial expenditure involved.The effectiveness of virtual stimulus exposure is well documented, especially in the case of object or situation-related fears in the context of specific phobias. It is therefore obvious that virtual stimulus exposure could also be suitable for minimising operation-associated fears.The research project described is designed to investigate the effect of virtual stimulus exposure on perioperative anxiety. For this purpose, a virtual tour of the operating setting has been created, which enables patients to explore the surroundings in detail by means of VR glasses.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Anaesthesia Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Mental Disorders Neurologic Manifestations Pain Pain, Postoperative Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Postoperative Complications Postoperative Pain Signs and Symptoms

Age range

18 year–100 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

RWTH Aachen University

Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, 52074, Germany

About this study

Anxiety and apprehension are common among patients prior to surgery. This anxiety can lead to additional discomfort, increased pain sensation and increased stress symptoms. Virtual exposure has proven to be successful in exposure therapy for the treatment of the narrowest patients. Patients are not confronted with the real stimuli or situations that trigger the branches, but with virtual representations of them. Virtual reality (VR) makes it possible to create scenarios that would not be possible in reality because of the organisational, time or financial expenditure involved.The effectiveness of virtual stimulus exposure is well documented, especially in the case of object or situation-related fears in the context of specific phobias. It is therefore obvious that virtual stimulus exposure could also be suitable for minimising operation-associated fears.The research project described is designed to investigate the effect of virtual stimulus exposure on perioperative anxiety. For this purpose, a virtual tour of the operating setting has been created, which enables patients to explore the surroundings in detail by means of VR glasses.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • all patient undergoing anaesthesia without the following exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria

  • < 18 years
  • cancer surgery
  • pregnancy
  • postoperative setting ICU
  • neurosurgery
  • Thorax surgery

Treatment and study plan

virtual reality tour

Other

Patients will be guided via VR on their way through the hospital to the operating theater

Primary outcomes

  1. STOA State T1

    Time frame: before anaesthesia

    Questinaire STOA State T1 before anaesthesia

Secondary outcomes

  1. STOA State T2

    Time frame: within 48 hours after anaesthesia

    Questionaire STOA State T2 after anaesthesia

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

RWTH Aachen University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Virtual Reality (VR) Tour to Reduce Preoperative Anxiety Before Anaesthesia in an Operating Setting: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Acronym: VR OP- tour

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2020
Study completion
2021
First posted
Oct 8, 2020
Registry last updated
Mar 15, 2021

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.