SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2025
Effects of Virtual Reality-Based Interventions on Preoperative Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Elective Surgery With Anesthesia: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness of Virtual Reality-Based Early Rehabilitation Strategies on Pain, Sleep, Anxiety, Balance, Cognition, and Limb Motor Function in Adult Intensive Care Unit Patients: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Applications of virtual reality technology throughout the perioperative period in breast cancer patients: a scoping review.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Feasibility and Acceptability of Perioperative Application of Biofeedback-Based Virtual Reality vs Control for Pain and Anxiety in Children and Adolescents Undergoing Surgery: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Trial
- Music therapy integrated virtual reality education for preoperative anxiety in gynecological surgery.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Perioperative virtual reality for pain and anxiety in adult hand and wrist surgery: a systematic review.JPRAS open · 2026Review
- The role of virtual reality in enhancing informed consent for shockwave lithotripsy: A mixed-methods study of physician and patient perspectives.Asian journal of urology · 2026Article
- Digital diagnostics, biomarkers and therapeutics in an evolving healthcare system: From promise to practice.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Review
- Surgical Safety and Preservation of Quality of Life in Carotid Body Tumour Resection: The Role of Embolisation and Vulnerability Analysis in Working-Age Patients.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Preoperative interventions for reducing anxiety in school-age children undergoing surgery: a network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2026Article
- Virtual reality in perioperative medicine: An evidence-based systematic review and meta-analysis.Indian journal of anaesthesia · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPreoperative anxiety is a common yet often neglected problem for patients undergoing surgery. Virtual reality (VR)-based intervention is a promising alternative with benefits for managing preoperative anxiety. However, the components of VR-based intervention and its effectiveness on preoperative anxiety in patients undergoing elective surgery with anesthesia remain unclear.
objectiveThis study aimed to identify the major components (ie, device, medium, format, and duration) of VR-based interventions and summarize evidence regarding their effectiveness in reducing preoperative anxiety in patients undergoing elective surgery with anesthesia.
methodsAllied and Complementary Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong Full Text Journals, CINAHL via EBSCOhost, Cochrane Library, Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database, EMBASE, MEDLINE via OvidSP, PubMed, PsychINFO, Scopus, China Journal Net, and WanFang Data Chinese Dissertations Database were searched from inception to February 2025. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of VR-based interventions for patients undergoing elective surgery with anesthesia were included. The Cochrane Collaboration's tool was used for risk of bias assessment. A random effect model was used for pooling the results.
resultsA total of 35 RCTs with 3341 patients (female: n=1474, 44.1%) were included in this review, of which 29 RCTs were included for meta-analysis. Compared with usual care, VR-based interventions showed substantial benefits in decreasing preoperative anxiety in patients undergoing elective surgery (standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.65, 95% CI 0.37-0.92; P<.001). Regarding the subgroup analysis, VR-based intervention showed significant but moderate effects on preoperative anxiety in the pediatric population (SMD 0.77, 95% CI 0.32-1.22; P<.001) compared to the adult population (SMD 0.58, 95% CI 0.23-0.93; P=.001). The distraction approach showed more significant effects (SMD 0.73, 95% CI 0.24-1.21; P=.004) on preoperative anxiety than the exposure approach (SMD 0.61, 95% CI 0.27-0.95; P<.001).
conclusionsPatients undergoing elective surgery with anesthesia may benefit from VR as a novel alternative to reduce preoperative anxiety, especially pediatric patients via the distraction approach. However, more rigorous research is needed to confirm VR's effectiveness.
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