SynthesisBMC emergency medicine2025
The impact of virtual reality (VR) on pain management in the emergency department: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC emergency medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Acute Pain Management in Children: A Systematic Review and GRADE-Based Recommendations.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapy are available, pain management in the emergency department (ED) may be difficult. In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a practical distraction approach for pain relief, especially in children and adolescents. However, little is known about the efficacy of VR in the ED. Therefore, the current study investigated the effect of VR on pain management in adult and pediatric patients in the ED.
objectivesPrimary objective: To assess the effect of VR on pain intensity. SECONDARY
objectivesTo investigate patient satisfaction with VR as a pain management method and to assess the incidence of cybersickness after VR intervention. SEARCH
methodsWe comprehensively searched CENTRAL, Google Scholar, PubMed, and MEDLINE databases for all studies published until May 2024. The search was limited to records authored in English and it did not include grey literature, such as theses and dissertations. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomized and non-randomized studies reporting the use of VR to manage pain in patients presenting to the ED.
resultsThe pooled analysis demonstrated a significant reduction in pain scores with the use of VR (SMD: -0.67; p = 0.001). Furthermore, subgroup analyses showed consistent pain reduction with the use of VR across adult and pediatric patients (SMD: -1.08; p = 0.01 and SMD: -0.39; p = 0.009, respectively). Significant pain reduction was also observed in patients undergoing minor medical procedures and those with acute pain unrelated to medical procedures (SMD: -1.55; p = 0.03 and SMD: -0.32; p = 0.002, respectively).
conclusionOverall, VR offers effective pain management in adults and pediatric patients with non-procedural acute pain and those undergoing painful procedures in the ED. SYSTEMIC REVIEW PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO: CRD42024609121. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.
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