Anxiety, Colorectal Cancer
Conditions
Keywords
virtual reality (VR), anxiety, colorectal cancer, surgery
Brief summary
A prospective controlled randomized interventional study comparing the effects of the preoperative exposure to a virtual reality software versus not exposure in 126 patients with colorectal cancer. Patients will be divided in two randomized groups, each of them of 63 patients. The hypothesis of the study is that gradual exposure to the hospital environment using a virtual reality software is effective to reduce preoperative anxiety. The main variable is the level of anxiety in patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery. It will be measured using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Scale (STAI-S) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).
Detailed description
Colorectal cancer is the third most frequent neoplasia diagnosed worldwide, and in Spain it is the first in incidence and prevalence, accounting for 15% of all neoplasias according to World Health Organization (WHO). The incidence of preoperative anxiety in patients undergoing elective surgery is high (60% - 76%). There are many causes for this: anticipation of postoperative pain, loss of independence, separation from the family, fear to the surgical procedure or to severe complications or even death. The incidence of preoperative anxiety varies according to age, sex, educational leve, previous exposure to surgical interventions and the expected impact of the surgical procedure in global quality of life. Patients with anxiety require higher dosis of induction anesthesia, longer hospital stay, and a higher rate of perioperative complications due to a release of catecholamines, increase on the oxidative demands, causing tachycardia, arrhythmia, high blood pressure, etc. Gradual exposition is considered an effective way of reducing anxiety. It has been demonstrated that anxiety is decreased in patients with history of surgical interventions, and thus the experience is experimented as an adaptive process. Virtual reality gives the opportunity to experience each of the steps of the hospital stay in a realistic environment. The hypothesis of this study is that gradual exposure to the hospital environment using virtual reality is an effective tool to reduce preoperative anxiety in patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALVirtual Reality Software
Patients will be exposed to a virtual reality software that simulates the hospital environment, from admission to the operating room and the recovery room.
Sponsors
Hospital Clinic of Barcelona
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Masking description
No masking.
Intervention model description
Single center prospective randomized two arms study
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 99 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Diagnosed of colorectal cancer requiring elective surgery. * American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I - III. * No surgical history. * Surgical procedure programmed in the next 6 months.
Exclusion criteria
* Neurologic deficits. * Visual disorder. * Neuro-psychiatric disorder. * Use of neuro-psychiatric drugs. * Non-sphincter-preserving surgery.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) | 1 day prior to surgical intervention | Change from Baseline Anxiety STAI scale to STAI scale the day previous to the surgery. Range of scores for each subtest is 20-80, the higher score indicating greater anxiety. |
| Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) | 1 day prior to surgical intervention | Change from Baseline Anxiety HAD to HAD scale the day previous to the surgery. The total score for the HADS-A can range from 0 to 21. The following guidelines are recommended for the interpretation of scores: 0-7 for normal or no anxiety, 8-10 for mild anxiety, 11-14 for moderate anxiety, and 12-21 for severe anxiety. |
Countries
Spain
Outcome results
None listed