The Effects of Virtual Reality on Preoperative Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Colorectal and Abdominal Wall Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a virtual reality (VR) application on preoperative anxiety (PA) in patients undergoing colorectal and abdominal wall surgery. A prospective, parallel two-armed, randomized controlled trial. Eighty six patients were divided into the control group (n = 43) and in the experimental group (n = 43). The experimental group received a preoperative VR application for 10 minutes. The routine preoperative procedure used at the clinic was used for the patients in the control group. The anxiety level was assessed using the Anxiety Specific to Surgery Questionnaire (ASSQ) and measured with physiological responses to anxiety, such as changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2), before and after the VR application. The VR application reduced PA levels in the experimental group (P < .001) and changes in the SBP (P < .001), DBP (P < .001), HR (P < .001), RR (P = .041) and SpO2(P = .019) values) compared to the levels in the control group. VR applications can reduce psychological and physiological responses to PA in patients undergoing colorectal and abdominal wall surgery.