Decreasing REcurrent Pain and Anxiety in Medical Procedures With a Pediatric Population: a Pilot Study

Children with injuries, including burns, experience severe pain intensity during medical procedures despite the increasing doses of analgesics. Current guidelines on pediatric procedural pain management recommend the combination of non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions to enhance pain management and decrease the numerous side effects of analgesics. Virtual reality (VR) has gained growing consideration as a non-pharmacological method as it engages multiple senses and allows interactions with a virtual world. Oculus Rift ® (OR) is a new technology in VR that provides more immersiveness, at a relatively low cost, and could probably improve the management of pain and anxiety in wound care. Overall hypothesis: Distraction by VR via the OR, in combination with the standard pharmacological treatment, is a feasible, acceptable and satisfactory method for the management of pain and anxiety during wound-related treatments in children with injuries. Note that this pilot study will precede a larger trial aimed at assessing the effect of virtual reality distraction via the Oculus Rift ® (DREAM-T: NCT02947243)