Non-pharmacological Pain Care During Complex Wound Care Procedures

Launched by ACADEMISCH MEDISCH CENTRUM - UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM (AMC-UVA) · Feb 23, 2023

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This study is testing whether extra non-drug methods can help adults feel less pain during complex wound care. Participants are randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) virtual reality (VR) therapy during wound care, (2) listening to preferred music through headphones during wound care, or (3) standard wound care with no additional distraction. The main goal is to see how the pain score changes from before to after the first wound care session, using a 0–10 scale where higher numbers mean more pain. Researchers will also look at anxiety, satisfaction for both patients and providers, and some heart and breathing measures.

People who may take part are adults 18 and older who are about to have 1–3 complex wound care visits before leaving the hospital. To join, you would have had at least one painful wound care session with a pain score of 4 or more on a 0–10 scale. You must be able to understand and read Dutch and not have conditions that would exclude you (such as dementia, epilepsy, migraine, severe dizziness or nausea, claustrophobia, or facial issues that would make VR gear hard to wear). If you participate, you’ll use the VR system (glasses, controller, headphones) starting about 10 minutes before wound care and ending about 1 minute after, or you’ll wear headphones with your own relaxing music on the same schedule. The trial is being conducted at Amsterdam University Medical Center, started in 2022 and aims to enroll about 72 people, with results not yet available.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Individuals aged 18 or older who have wounds receiving wound care
• • Individuals who will undergo minimum of 1 to a maximum of 3 sequential complex wound care procedures before discharge
• • At least 1 prior painful wound care procedure, where they have indicated a VAS ≥ 4, or patients reporting a VAS ≥ 4 before initiating the wound care procedure.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Individuals not being able to understand Dutch language at primary school level
• • Individuals not being able to read or write Dutch
• • Individuals diagnosed with dementia and/or cognitive impairment
• • Individuals diagnosed with epilepsy
• • Individuals diagnosed with migraine
• • Individuals with severe dizziness and/or nausea
• • Individuals with a known history of claustrophobia
• • Individuals who are unable to sign informed consent owing to mental disorder or formally stated to be incompetent to decide
• • Individuals who have no feeling in the wound care area
• • Individuals with physical (and/or cognitive) disabilities on the face, eye, ear, nose and neck that prevent the use of the VR headgear and/or headphones