One of the views seen during the hypnosis VR sessions. Source: Euroanaesthesia Press Centre.A new resource to help reduce anxiety and increase the chances of success is on the horizon for women undergoing fertility treatments: virtual reality.
New research presented at the 2018 Euroanaesthesia congress in Copenhagen, Denmark, studies the effect of different types of virtual reality (VR) sessions given prior to sedation for in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. For the study, 100 women between 18 and 42 years old gave their consent to be included in a prospective randomized, double-blind study. A visual anxiety scale (VAS), as well as a Spielberger's Scale Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), were performed before and after VR sessions and before leaving the hospital.
Two types of VR sessions were given: the “distraction” group experienced a virtual underwater walk cut off from all ambient noise and the “hypnosis” group’s session used a commercially-available product called Aqua, developed by Belgium-based clinical care company Oncomfort. Aqua focuses on breathing and slowing respiratory rhythm, and also provides suggestions to repeat the technique later to find well-being and calm as needed.
The researchers, led by Professor Fabienne Roelants of Saint-Luc Hospital of the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) in Brussels, found that anxiety scores decreased significantly for both groups. There was a reduction in measured anxiety after the session, and a further reduction before leaving the hospital. No statistically significant difference regarding anxiety scores was noted between the two groups.
The majority of women in both groups had embryos successfully transferred during the procedure, although the percent of biologically-confirmed pregnancies was less than 50 percent in each case. Clinical pregnancy rates – defined as ultrasound-confirmed pregnancy at 12 weeks gestation – were between 15 percent for the distraction group and 23 percent for the hypnosis group. Again, the difference was not statistically significant, and in fact the 23 percent success rate in the latter group is similar to the rate seen in the author’s clinic for women with no VR session. Still, the reduction in anxiety is an important step forward.
“The small number of patients included at this time precludes any definitive conclusion,” said Roelants. “We need to repeat the study with around 300 patients in each group to come to definitive conclusions.
"The effectiveness of virtual reality distraction has been the subject of a systematic review,” he added. “Virtual reality distraction was shown to be effective to reduce experimental pain as well as the discomfort associated with burn injury care. The technology is being used more and more in medicine, notably in psychiatry to treat phobias."
The research has not yet been published in a medical journal, and the study is ongoing.
