Burn Patients Soothed with Virtual Reality Games
Clinicians at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio are using a new approach to mitigate the anxiety pediatric patients experience while burn wounds are maintained, according to a press release issued by the hospital.
The new method the team is using to help distract patients during the lengthy treatments for burn management entails use of virtual reality games. The virtual reality system was donated to the Children’s Hospital Burn Center by Aladdin Shriner’s Hospital Association for Children. The pediatric patients don a virtual reality helmet and play a game, with help from a child life specialist. Those caregivers are trained to provide patients with support during stressful treatments.
Treating burn patients requires intensive attention to the wounds, during cleaning and redressing. These procedures are both painful as well as lengthy. Anticipation of this pain usually increases the anxiety while patients are undergoing wound treatment, which is required in frequent intervals.
The associated anxiety while caring for burn wounds is well known. In fact, treating burn wounds is often significantly more painful than sustaining the injury in the first place. Additional research indicates that patients who are more anxious have higher levels of pain. Varying approaches to distraction are utilized to help minimize anxiety, make the procedure less painful for the patient, and facilitate completion of treatment as quickly and easily as possible by the caregivers.
The facility is now completing a study to compare the virtual reality system to other methods of distraction traditionally employed after nurses noted decreased pain and anxiety. Patients will be randomly assigned to the treatment arms. The study will assess patient self-report of pain, in addition to assessing the impressions of nursing staff and parents about patient pain and anxiety levels.
Clinicians often employ a variety of techniques to distract the patient while delivering care to the burns. Common techniques include having the patients read a book, watch television, or listen to music.
October 4, 2007 Related topics: New Technology & Innovation, Trends, Partnerships & Consortia, Surgery, Pediatrics