SynthesisPain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses2022
A Systematic Review of Virtual Reality Therapeutics for Acute Pain Management.
Synthesis in Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Extended Reality Interventions for Osteoarthritis of the Knee and Recovery After Total Knee Arthroplasty: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of virtual reality therapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders in adolescents and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Teledentistry Applied to Health and Education Outcomes: Evidence Gap Map.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- The Effect of Virtual Reality Application on Pain and Anxiety During Episiotomy Repair: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.International urogynecology journal · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of Virtual Reality on Postoperative Pain Management Following Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR formative research · 2026Trial
- Feasibility of Mobile Phone-Based Virtual Reality as a Non-pharmacologic Acute Procedural Pain Management Intervention in an Inpatient Burn Center.Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings · 2026Trial
- Virtual Reality Induced Awe in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Mixed-Methods Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- A feasibility and acceptability of virtual reality as a pain relief measure post primary and revision total knee replacement surgery in a hospital setting: quasi-experimental study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- Virtual reality as a pain reduction method in burn and wound healing: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Burns & trauma · 2026Article
- Virtual reality is emerging training applications for anesthesia simulation.European journal of medical research · 2025Review
- Virtual Reality as an Adjuvant Treatment for Acute Pain During an Interventional Process with Capsaicin: A Feasibility Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Understanding Cybersickness and Presence in Seated VR: A Foundation for Exploring Therapeutic Applications of Immersive Virtual Environments.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- The Careful Project: Evaluating the acceptability of local virtual reality experiences as a leisure activity for residents in aged care.Australasian journal on ageing · 2025Article
- Feasibility, acceptability, patient experience, and preliminary efficacy of a virtual reality guided imagery intervention for chronic pain.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Article
- The effect of virtual reality therapy on pain and anxiety during wound care in adults: A systematic review.Heliyon · 2024Review
- Extended Reality Analgesia Evidence Reviews Often Lack Sufficient Intervention Detail.Journal of medical extended reality · 2024Article
- Impact of virtual reality hypnosedation on perioperative pain and anxiety in port implantation under local anesthesia: a randomized controlled pilot trial (VIP Trial).Perioperative medicine (London, England) · 2024Article
- Virtual Reality in Acute and Chronic Pain Medicine: An Updated Review.Current pain and headache reports · 2024Review
- Virtual Reality Videos for Symptom Management in Hospice and Palliative Care.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Digital health · 2024Article
- Technologies for Supporting Individuals and Caregivers Living With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Scoping Review.JMIR mental health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThe purpose of this systematic review is to examine the delivery and clinical efficacy of virtual reality (VR) therapeutics for acute pain management in adults and identify practical considerations of VR deployment, as well as current gaps in the literature.
designA systematic review. DATA SOURCES: A search of PubMed, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Embase, Compendex, and Inspec was completed using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and keyword search terms related to acute pain and VR. REVIEW/ANALYSIS
methodsA systematic review of all pertinent articles published between January 1, 2000, and August 1, 2020, was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
resultsTwenty-three articles met final inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Studies utilized VR in a variety of settings for wound care, procedure-induced pain, physical or occupational therapy, dental treatment or generalized acute pain. A likely mechanism by which VR promoted analgesia in these studies is distraction. Of the reviewed studies, 19 (83%) reported decreases in pain intensity while using VR compared with no VR use or with a non-VR group.
conclusionsThis systematic review found VR to be an effective tool for acute pain management. Findings from this review also underscore the importance of addressing the patient's sense of presence and levels of immersion, interaction, and interest when deploying VR. Future VR studies should consider incorporation of anxiety, presence, and VR side effect measures in addition to acute pain metrics.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.