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VR-PAT During Home Burn Dressings - Multisite

A Randomized Clinical Trial of Smartphone Virtual Reality for Pain Management During Burn Care Transition

Status
Enrolling by invitation
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05673551
Enrollment
220
Registered
2023-01-06
Start date
2023-01-16
Completion date
2027-12-01
Last updated
2026-07-31

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Acute Pain, Burns, Injuries, Pediatric ALL, Procedural Pain

Keywords

Virtual Reality, VR, Burns, Pain

Brief summary

This study will evaluate the effectiveness of smartphone Virtual Reality Pain Alleviation Therapy (VR-PAT) as a pain distraction tool during repeated at-home burn dressing changes among 100 children (age 6-17 years) with a burn injury in comparison to 100 children with a burn injury who do not use the VR-PAT.

Detailed description

In this two-group randomized clinical trial, participants will be randomly assigned to either the VR-PAT intervention group or control group (standard distraction techniques available in the home). Participants and caregivers in both groups will perform daily burn dressing changes (as prescribed by their physician) and afterward will answer questions about their pain and any medications used. Participants and caregivers in the intervention group will answer additional questions about their experience using the VR-PAT, ease of use, and helpfulness. Surveys will be repeated with each dressing changes for one week.

Interventions

OTHERVR-PAT

Smartphone-based Virtual Reality Pain Alleviation Tool (VR-PAT) via a lightweight, mobile VR headset

Sponsors

Nationwide Children's Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER
Parkland Health and Hospital System
CollaboratorOTHER
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
CollaboratorFED

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
6 Years to 17 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Being treated for acute burn injury * Age 6-17 years, inclusive * Receiving their first outpatient clinic dressing change or being discharged from the ED or inpatient burn unit * Have a dressing that requires daily changes at home for at least 7 days after their first outpatient appointment or discharge from the hospital (ED or inpatient) * Patient and family caregivers can communicate (read and write) using English or Spanish * Reported at least moderate or worse NRS pain score of ≥3 (NRS 0-10 with 10 being worst pain) from the most recent dressing change.

Exclusion criteria

* Any wounds that may interfere with study procedures * Vision, hearing, or cognitive/motor impairments preventing valid administration of study measures * History of motion sickness, seizure disorder, dizziness, or migraine headaches precipitated by visual auras * Minors in foster care, prisoners, or currently pregnant * Suspected child abuse * Families who do not have access to a VR compatible smartphone.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in self-reported painImmediately following each dressing change for one week0-10 Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) (self-reported and caregiver-reported), 0(min)-10(max), with higher score indicating worse pain. Asked for worst pain, average pain, and time spent thinking about pain.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Self-reported VR experienceImmediately following each dressing change for one week0-10 Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) (self-reported - VR-PAT arm only), 0(min)-10(max), with higher score meaning better outcome. Asked for degree of realism, pleasure, and satisfaction with VR.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Aug 1, 2026