Virtual reality for pediatric periprocedural care
Article type: Narrative review article.
Summary: This narrative review covers the available literature on the use of Virtual Reality (VR) around the time of procedures in good breadth but is clearly informed by practical experience. The paper usefully breaks up the applications into preprocedural use, intraprocedural use and postprocedural use in a manner that is constructive for clinicians with an interest. Crucially it is upfront about the challenges to implementation including the importance of patient selection, support with the right people and careful use of protocols. It does not veer into the sort of wide-eyed idolatry that can accompany reviews of new tech options. This is reinforced by the inclusion of a whole section on design and implementation considerations.
The Bottom Line: This is a comprehensive review which also covers crucial practical considerations in the implementation of VR as a periprocedural option. Worth the time for those interested in the area.
Reviewed by Dr Andrew Weatherall
