The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality in Reducing Pain Intensity During Wound Dressing Changes in Children and Adolescents with Burn Injuries: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Children and adolescents who suffer burn injuries often experience pain when their wounds are being dressed which can have an impact on their overall physical and mental well-being. Distraction with Virtual Reality (VR) has emerged as a non-conventional tactic to alleviate pain in different medical settings. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness of VR in easing pain intensity during wound care procedures like dressing changes in paediatric burns compared to conventional wound care. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in the COCHRANE database, CINAHL, PubMed, and Medline to find relevant articles published that examined the effectiveness of using virtual reality as a distraction technique for managing pain during wound dressing changes in children and adolescents with burn injuries. The focus of the systematic review was on reducing the intensity of pain. Data were analysed and synthesized using a systematic review without meta-analysis. Results: A total of 527 articles were identified, with 404 from the COCHRANE Central database and the rest from other databases. After screening and assessing eligibility, 8 studies were included in this systematic review. Initial analysis suggests that VR distraction could effectively lower pain intensity during wound dressing changes for paediatric and adolescent burn patients. However, more investigation is needed to validate these results and ascertain the most suitable application of VR distraction in this group. Conclusion: Virtual reality distraction shows promise as a successful intervention to alleviate pain severity during the process of changing dressings for children and adolescents with burn injuries. This systematic review highlights the need for additional high-quality studies to strengthen the evidence base and provide guidance for the integration of VR distraction into standard wound care protocols.