The effect of virtual reality glasses on anxiety during surgery under spinal anesthesia: a randomized controlled study

Background & objectives: Surgery–related anxiety can be observed due to several factors in patients undergoing surgery. With developing technology virtual reality (VR) glasses have begun to be used to reduce anxiety in the preoperative period. We aimed to investigate the effect of using VR glasses on operation anxiety and sedation requirement in patients during operation under spinal anesthesia. Methodology: We enrolled 97 patients between 18–75 y of age, ASA class I–II, in this study. Participants were randomized into VR glasses group or the standard care group. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Trait Anxiety (STAI–TA) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for State Anxiety (STAI–SA) scores preoperatively and anxiety score on VAS scale during surgery were obtained. Patients watched a movie via VR glasses (BOBO® VR Z4) after spinal anesthesia and the surgical operation was commenced thereafter. In the control group, the surgery was begun without any additional procedure. Results: Both groups were similar in terms of demographic and hemodynamic data. There was no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of preoperative anxiety levels, STAI–SA and STAI–TA scores. However, the VAS and relative risk (RR) values were significantly lower in the study group in all measurements (p < 0.05). Conclusion: We believe that the use of VR glasses decreases perioperative anxiety and sedation requirements in patients undergoing a surgical procedure under spinal anesthesia. Key words: Spinal Anesthesia; Virtual Reality; Anxiety; Sedation Citation: Turan AZ, Yilmaz M, Saracoglu T. The effect of virtual reality glasses on anxiety during surgery under spinal anesthesia: a randomized controlled study. Anaesth pain intensive care 2021;25(2):170-175. DOI: 10.35975/apic.v25i2.1469 Received: 31 January 2021, Reviewed: 22, 25 February 2021, Accepted: 27 February 2021