Observational studyJournal of medical Internet research2021
Virtual Reality for Sedation During Atrial Fibrillation Ablation in Clinical Practice: Observational Study.
Observational study in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06515873 (Evaluating the Acceptability of Virtual Reality Headsets During Surgery Under Spinal Anesthesia in Elderly Patients. Seniors' Intraoperative Management Under Locoregional Anesthesia Integrating Virtual Reality), which is not on this map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Evaluating the Acceptability of Virtual Reality Headsets During Surgery Under Spinal Anesthesia in Elderly Patients. Seniors' Intraoperative Management Under Locoregional Anesthesia Integrating Virtual Reality (SILVR)
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effects of virtual reality on pain relief in ICU patients: meta-analysis and systematic review.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Do Extended Reality Interventions Benefit Patients Undergoing Elective Cardiac Surgical and Interventional Procedures? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of clinical nursing · 2025Pooled it
- Virtual Reality for the Management of Pain and Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Implantation of Pacemaker or Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator: A Randomized Study.Journal of medical systems · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Effectiveness of a Mindfulness Meditation App Based on an Electroencephalography-Based Brain-Computer Interface in Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation for Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2023Trial
- Extended reality in cardiovascular care: a systematic review.European heart journal. Digital health · 2025Review
- Current Clinical and Educational Uses of Immersive Reality in Anesthesia: Narrative Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Review
- Real Results from Virtual Sedation: Application to Colonoscopy.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2025Article
- Efficacy of virtual reality therapy versus pharmacological sedation for reducing pain and anxiety during coronary catheterisation procedures: A prospective randomised controlled trial.Health science reports · 2024Article
- Virtual Reality in Acute and Chronic Pain Medicine: An Updated Review.Current pain and headache reports · 2024Review
- Visions for digital integrated cardiovascular care: HRS Digital Health Committee perspectives.Cardiovascular digital health journal · 2024Article
- Virtual Reality for Pain and Anxiety Management in Cardiac Surgery and Interventional Cardiology.JACC. Advances · 2024Review
- Foreign movement in one's own body: Patients' experiences of being awake while treated with catheter ablation-a phenomenological study.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2023Article
- 360° Virtual reality to improve patient education and reduce anxiety towards atrial fibrillation ablation.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2023Observational
- The Emerging Role of Virtual Reality as an Adjunct to Procedural Sedation and Anesthesia: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Virtual Reality Hypnosis in the Electrophysiology Lab: When Human Treatments Are Better than Virtual Ones.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Virtual Reality as a Nonpharmacological Tool for Acute Pain Management: A Scoping Review.Innovations in clinical neuroscienceReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundConnected devices are dramatically changing many aspects in health care. One such device, the virtual reality (VR) headset, has recently been shown to improve analgesia in a small sample of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation.
objectiveWe aimed to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of VR in patients undergoing atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation under conscious sedation.
methodsAll patients who underwent an AF ablation with VR from March to May 2020 were included. Patients were compared to a consecutive cohort of patients who underwent AF ablation in the 3 months prior to the study. Primary efficacy was assessed by using a visual analog scale, summarizing the overall pain experienced during the ablation.
resultsThe AF cryoablation procedure with VR was performed for 48 patients (mean age 63.0, SD 10.9 years; n=16, 33.3% females). No patient refused to use the device, although 14.6% (n=7) terminated the VR session prematurely. Preparation of the VR headset took on average 78 (SD 13) seconds. Compared to the control group, the mean perceived pain, assessed with the visual analog scale, was lower in the VR group (3.5 [SD 1.5] vs 4.3 [SD 1.6]; P=.004), and comfort was higher in the VR group (7.5 [SD 1.6] vs 6.8 [SD 1.7]; P=.03). On the other hand, morphine consumption was not different between the groups. Lastly, complications, as well as procedure and fluoroscopy duration, were not different between the two groups.
conclusionsWe found that VR was associated with a reduction in the perception of pain in patients undergoing AF ablation under conscious sedation. Our findings demonstrate that VR can be easily incorporated into the standard ablation workflow.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.