• Qizhi Liu, Yunhua Zang, Wei Zang, Wenpeng Cai, Weiwei Li, Ya'nan Guo, Cheng Xin, and Xiaohuang Tu.
• Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, Shanghai, China.
• Clin Med (Lond). 2022 May 1; 22 (3): 237240237-240.

BackgroundImproved patient satisfaction in endoscopy is worthy of study as it is an invasive and potentially uncomfortable procedure. There is growing literature on patient satisfaction assessment in endoscopy as part of improving quality assurance. This study aimed to determine whether virtual reality (VR) technology can decrease patients' pain and nervousness during colonoscopies.MethodsPatients enrolled without sedation were randomly categorised into groups that watched VR (VR group; n=58) and those that did not watch VR (control group; n=59). The primary outcomes were pain score and skin conductance. Secondary endpoints included heart rate, systolic and diastolic arterial pressures, overall patient satisfaction, willingness to repeat the procedure, the difficulty of the procedure, the procedure duration, and bowel preparation.ResultsThe median (interquartile range (IQR)) pain scores were 7 (6-8) and 5 (4-6) in the control and VR groups, respectively (p<0.001). The median (IQR) skin conductance values after colonoscope insertion were 0.660 (0.490-0.840) and 0.390 (0.280-0.600) in the control and VR groups, respectively (p<0.001). Overall, patient satisfaction was significantly improved with the use of VR, along with a significant reduction in the difficulty perceived by the endoscopist.ConclusionVR technology helped to reduce patients' pain and nervousness and to improve patients' satisfaction during colonoscopies.© Royal College of Physicians 2022. All rights reserved.

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