ReviewDigital health
The effect of virtual reality on pain associated with venous access in children presenting to the emergency department: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Digital health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Aims: To evaluate VR's effectiveness for pain relief during pediatric venous access procedures in emergency departments. Methods: Using the PRISMA framework, a systematic search was undertaken across prominent databases up to February 1, 2025. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving children under 18 undergoing venous access and using VR as an intervention were included. Meta-analyses were executed using standardized mean differences and random-effects models. Results: Twelve RCTs (children 6 months-18 years) were included. VR decreased pain in the single-stage format significantly (SMD= -0.48; 95% CI: -0.70 to -0.26; I Conclusion: The current evidence suggests a modest analgesic benefit for VR during pediatric venous access. Nonetheless, the presence of approximately 66% heterogeneity and the observation that merely one of the twelve included trials demonstrated low risk of bias render these findings preliminary and warrant prudent interpretation. Future RCTs should adopt a standardized approach, measuring pain before, during, and after the intervention, to better capture pain dynamics.
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