Virtual reality to reduce pain and anxiety during interventional radiology procedures
Virtual Reality (VR) for Interventional Radiology (IR) Procedures
Children's Hospital Los Angeles · NCT07427862
This project will try giving virtual reality headsets to children 8 and older during interventional radiology procedures to see if they reduce pain and anxiety compared with standard care.
Quick facts
| Study type | Observational |
|---|---|
| Enrollment | 500 (estimated) |
| Ages | 8 Years and up |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | Children's Hospital Los Angeles (other) |
| Locations | 1 site (Los Angeles, California) |
| Trial ID | NCT07427862 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
This observational project enrolls children aged 8 years and older undergoing interventional radiology procedures and offers commercial VR headsets (Meta Oculus Quest Pro, Pico 4, Pico G3) during the procedure. Pain and procedural anxiety will be measured in children, and caregivers will report their perception of child distress and satisfaction with the experience. Participants receiving VR will be compared with those receiving the facility's standard of care to examine differences in reported pain, anxiety, and caregiver satisfaction. The study excludes children with developmental delays and those taking pain or anxiolytic medications and is conducted at a single pediatric tertiary center.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Children aged 8 years and older who speak English (with caregivers who speak English or Spanish) and who are scheduled for an interventional radiology procedure at the enrolling center are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: Children with developmental delays, or those currently taking pain or anxiolytic medications, are excluded and may not experience benefits from this approach as studied.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, using VR during procedures could reduce children's pain and anxiety and improve caregiver satisfaction without adding medication.
How similar studies have performed: Previous pediatric studies using VR for procedural pain and anxiety have reported reductions in distress and pain, so this approach has prior supportive evidence.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Children who are at least 8 years old * Children who are English speaking with caregivers who are English speaking or Spanish speaking. * Children who are undergoing an interventional radiology procedure are eligible to participate in this project. * Only children who are in the normal range of development will be recruited for this study. This will be assessed by report from the parents. The rationale for excluding patients with developmental delay is that due to their cognitive impairments, such children react to the stressors of surgery differently than do children without such developmental delay. It is unclear how such children would use the interventions included in this study, and it is likely that their responses on baseline and outcome measures will differ from children of normal developmental parameters. Exclusion Criteria: * Children who are currently taking pain medication or anxiolytic medication will be excluded from this study. * Children with a psychiatric disorder, organic brain syndrome, intellectual disability, or other known cognitive/neurological disorders * Children with visual, auditory, or tactile deficits that would interfere with the ability to complete the experimental tasks * Children with a history of seizure disorder. * Children currently sick with flu-like symptoms or experiencing a headache or earache. * Children with known or suspected motion sickness. * Children with cochlear implants or pacemakers.
Where this trial is running
Los Angeles, California
- Children's Hospital Los Angeles — Los Angeles, California, United States (RECRUITING)
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Jeffrey Gold, PhD — Children's Hospital Los Angeles
- Study coordinator: Saloni M Dangoria
- Email: sdangoria@chla.usc.edu
- Phone: (323) 361-4342
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.
Conditions: Pain, Procedural Anxiety, Virtual reality, Interventional radiology, Pediatrics