Authors
Sevim Akbal, Seher Ünver, Doğan Albayrak
Published in
Surgical endoscopy. Oct 12, 2026. Epub Oct 12, 2026.
Abstract
Preoperative anxiety negatively impacts surgical outcomes. This study evaluated the effects of immersive virtual reality (VR) vs non-immersive video distraction on preoperative anxiety, physiological stress, and heart rate in elective abdominal surgery.
In this three-arm randomized controlled trial (NCT05718661), 96 elective abdominal surgery patients were allocated to immersive VR, non-immersive video, or a control group ( per group). Both intervention groups viewed identical relaxing audiovisual content for 15 min via a VR headset or a smartphone screen; controls received standard care. Preoperative anxiety was measured with the Visual Analogue Scale-Anxiety (VAS-A). Physiological stress scores and heart rate were tracked using a wearable smart band before and after the intervention.
VAS-A scores worsened in controls (p < 0.001) but decreased significantly in both the VR (p < 0.001) and video (p = 0.002) groups, with no significant difference between the two active interventions (p > 0.05). Device-derived stress scores increased in controls (p = 0.018) and decreased in the video group (p = 0.017), with no change in the VR group (p = 0.568). Heart rate changes did not differ significantly among groups (p < 0.206).
Both immersive VR and non-immersive video distraction significantly reduce preoperative anxiety compared with standard care; however, VR is not superior to conventional video viewing. Given its equivalent efficacy, lower cost, and simpler implementation, non-immersive video represents a practical, scalable non-pharmacological strategy for perioperative anxiety management.
PMID:
42864468
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Oct 2026.
Read full publication at:
Please sign in
to see all details.
Advertisement
Stats
- Recommendations n/a n/a positive of 0 vote(s)
- Views 10
- Comments 0