Virtual Reality for ICU Pain Relief: Meta-Analysis of 13 Studies

Thirteen studies involving 979 patients were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The analysis, conducted by Ping Zhao and published on figshare in 2026, found that head-mounted VR devices delivering nature scenes significantly reduced pain scores compared to conventional care. The effect was most pronounced during acute procedural pain, such as postoperative chest drain removal.

Use Cases

• Evaluating the efficacy of VR-based distraction therapy based on the reported pain score reductions.
• Assessing the quality of evidence for VR interventions based on the application of GRADE and Cochrane Risk of Bias tools.
• Identifying research gaps in analgesic-sparing effects based on the limited reporting of post-enrolment medication doses.

Strengths

• Includes 13 studies with a total of 979 patients, providing a substantial sample for meta-analysis.
• Applies standardized quality assessment tools (Cochrane Risk of Bias, JBI checklist) and the GRADE system for evidence certainty.
• Reports a statistically significant reduction in pain scores (SMD = -0.66) for VR interventions.

Limitations

• The dataset is a 14.5 KB document; the underlying study data is not included, limiting direct analysis.
• Column-level documentation for the meta-analysis data is absent; field semantics must be inferred from the review text.
• Heterogeneity in reporting precluded pooled estimates of opioid- or sedative-sparing effects, as noted in the results.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Ping Zhao.

Collection Method

Systematic review and meta-analysis of literature from PubMed and eight other databases published from January 2015 to February 2026.

Time Range

Literature search covers January 2015 to February 2026.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-19 05:28:34.