Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36794093›Full record

ArticleEpilepsy & behavior reports2023

Describing epilepsy-related anxiety to inform the design of a virtual reality exposure therapy: Results from Phase 1 of the AnxEpiVR clinical trial.

Danielle Tchao, Samantha Lewis-Fung, Hannah Gray, Susanna Pardini, Laurence R Harris, Lora Appel

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Epilepsy & behavior reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06028945 (Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Impact of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy on Epilepsy/Seizure-Specific Interictal Anxiety In People With Epilepsy), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT06028945 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2024, after this paper: background citation

Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Impact of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy on Epilepsy/Seizure-Specific Interictal Anxiety In People With Epilepsy

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity Health Network, TorontoRan2024 to 2024Enrolled14ConditionsEpilepsy, Anxiety DisordersArmsHMD: Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, HMD: Neutral Game
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Danielle TchaoOpenLab, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Samantha Lewis-FungOpenLab, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Hannah GrayFaculty of Health, Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Susanna PardiniOpenLab, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Laurence R HarrisFaculty of Health, Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Lora AppelOpenLab, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
University Health Network · CAYork University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

People with epilepsy (PwE) are at a greater risk of comorbid anxiety, which is often related to the fear of having another seizure for safety or social reasons. While virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy (ET) has been successfully used to treat several anxiety disorders, no studies to date have investigated its use in this population. This paper discusses Phase 1 of the three-phase AnxEpiVR pilot study. In Phase 1, we aimed to explore and validate scenarios that provoke epilepsy/seizure-specific (ES) interictal anxiety and provide recommendations that lay the foundation for designing VR-ET scenarios to treat this condition in PwE. An anonymous online questionnaire (including open- and closed-ended questions) that targeted PwE and those affected by it (e.g., through a family member, friend, or as a healthcare professional) was promoted by a major epilepsy foundation in Toronto, Canada. Responses from n = 18 participants were analyzed using grounded theory and the constant comparison method. Participants described anxiety-provoking scenes, which were categorized under the following themes: location, social setting, situational, activity, physiological, and previous seizure. While scenes tied to previous seizures were typically highly personalized and idiosyncratic, public settings and social situations were commonly reported fears. Factors consistently found to increase ES-interictal anxiety included the potential for danger (physical injury or inability to get help), social factors (increased number of unfamiliar people, social pressures), and specific triggers (stress, sensory, physiological, and medication-related). We make recommendations for incorporating different combinations of anxiety-related factors to achieve a customizable selection of graded exposure scenarios suitable for VR-ET. Subsequent phases of this study will include creating a set of VR-ET hierarchies (Phase 2) and rigorously evaluating their feasibility and effectiveness (Phase 3).

Indexed as

AnxietyCognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)EpilepsyExposure therapyNon-pharmacological interventionVirtual reality

Identifiers

PMID36794093
PMCPMC9922786
OpenAlexW4316506159

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

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.