Virtual reality in surgical preparation for children and adolescent: a randomized clinical trial

• The study shows how VR affects the preoperative anxiety and need for information of pediatric surgery patients • There was no evidence for a difference between VR and information conveyed in person. This means, there might be a reduction the use of human resources and an increasing efficiency in the clinic that should be proven in larger confirmatory trials. • The VR glasses were well accepted in the selected age group with no significant side effects. To investigate the use of Virtual Reality to reduce preoperative anxiety in children facing elective surgeries. A randomized controlled trial involving 96 patients aged 5 to 13. Participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention group, which used a VR headset to experience an interactive film depicting the hospital environment and surgery day from a child's perspective, or the control group, which received standard information from a study nurse. The surgeries included orchidopexy, metal removal, circumcision, hernia repair, or port removal. Anxiety and information levels were assessed using the APAIS. The results show that the participants in the intervention group reported less anxiety on average than in the control group (regression coefficient RC: -0.99 [-2.04; 0.06], p-value: 0.0640). The same is observed for the need for information (RC: -0.15 [-0.82; 0.53], p-value: 0.6703). The introduction of Virtual Reality technology into clinical practice can enhance the hospital experience for children by providing reassurance and building trust prior to outpatient surgery.