EP165 Evaluation of the influence of virtual reality hypnosis on the perception of experimental heat pain in healthy volunteers

<h3></h3> <b>Please confirm that an ethics committee approval has been applied for or granted</b>: Yes: I’m uploading the Ethics Committee Approval as a PDF file with this abstract submission <h3>Background and Aims</h3> Therapeutic virtual reality (VR) can alleviate pain and anxiety (Colloca 2020, Terzulli 2022, Terzulli 2023). This study aimed to assess VR hypnosis (VRH) on pain and anxiety during heat stimulation in healthy volunteers. <h3>Methods</h3> French ethic committee approved the study on 04/02/2020. After written consent obtention, heat nociceptive stimulations (45°C/25s, 46°C/20s and 47°C/10s) were applied to the wrist of 22 healthy volunteers with a contact probe (QST.Lab, Strasbourg, France). The control period (without VRH, CTRL) was compared with the VRH period (HypnoVR Biofeedback®, VRH). Data on demographics, anxiety (STAI-trait/80), suggestibility (Stanford/12), pain intensity (Visual analog scale VASi/10), unpleasantness (VASu/10), and state anxiety (STAI-State/80) before CTRL (State 1), between CTRL and VRH (State 2) and after VRH (State 3), were collected. <h3>Results</h3> Significant reductions were observed in VASi (4.7 ± 2.3 vs. 3.8/10 ± 2.5, p=0.002), VASu (5.3 ± 1.9 vs. 3.7/10 ± 2.5; p &lt; 0.001), and anxiety State 3 vs. State 2 (26.6/80 ± 9.9 vs. 31.7 ± 10.9; p &lt; 0.001), whereas not between State 1 and 2 (p&gt;.05). Responders to VRH (i.e., decreased pain intensity &gt; 10%, non-responders as those with no change (-10 to +10%), and inverse responders as those with an increase &gt; 10%. For intensity, proportions were 59%, 32%, and 9%, respectively. For unpleasantness, proportions were 77%, 14%, and 9%, respectively. <h3>Conclusions</h3> HypnoVR Biofeedback® reduced pain intensity, unpleasantness, and anxiety during heat stimuli. However, 9% of volunteers responded negatively, it is comparable with our previous study2. Further studies on patients are needed to correctly characterize these patients.