ArticleBMC nursing2026
Dynamic assessment of pain, fear, and physiological stress during pediatric intravenous cannulation: a randomized controlled trial of virtual reality distraction.
Article in BMC nursing, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07752680 (The Effect of Virtual Reality Headset Use on Pain, Comfort, and Psychosocial Symptoms in Children Undergoing Hypospadias Surgery), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
The Effect of Virtual Reality Headset Use on Pain, Comfort, and Psychosocial Symptoms in Children Undergoing Hypospadias Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
background and purposeMost studies confirm the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) in alleviating pain and fear during pediatric venipuncture, with limited evidence regarding physiological stress markers and dynamic assessment. This study aims to investigate the effects of VR technology on pain, fear, and physiological responses in children, as well as family satisfaction during intravenous cannulation.
methodsThis single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Pediatrics Department of Mianyang Central Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. A total of 188 children requiring intravenous cannulation procedures and their families were allocated into: the control group (n = 96), which received the conventional verbal comfort; and the experimental group (n = 92), which wore VR headsets. The primary outcomes were dynamic fear/pain scores assessed by nurses and self-reported by patients, which were surveyed using the Children's Emotional Manifestation Scale (CEMS) and the Children's Fear Scale (CFS)/the Face, Legs, Activity, Crying, and Consolability scale (FLACC) and the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale (Wong-Baker), respectively. The secondary outcomes were dynamic heart rate (HR) and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) measurement, and family satisfaction levels. The pre-specified time points were pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, at tourniquet application, at venipuncture, and one minute after venipuncture. Results were reported following the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials 2025 guidelines.
resultsVR significantly reduced children's fear at two pre-venipuncture time points (nurse-assessed CEMS and child-reported CFS; partial η
conclusionsIn this trial, VR distraction effectively reduced procedural fear (but not pain) during venipuncture. However, the nurse assessment appears to suggest that the effects of VR distraction and conventional intervention on pain experience may vary over time. These findings underscore the importance of multidimensional pain/fear assessment in pediatrics. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Our study confirms that VR distraction can significantly reduce fear in children undergoing intravenous cannulation, though pain scores were not significantly lowered. Multidimensional assessment (including subjective fear measures) is therefore important. VR may improve the patient and family experience of painful procedures. We recommend further trials with larger samples to confirm these findings and refine VR interventions.
trial registrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2500113849 (Registration Date: Dec. 3, 2025; Retrospectively registered).
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.