VR glasses soothe patients undergoing TRUS-guided prostate biopsy

Virtual reality (VR) glasses could help reduce anxiety and improve comfort for patients undergoing transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy (TRUS-PB), suggest findings published April 8 in Seminars in Oncology Nursing. 

Patients who viewed 3D nature-based video content through the glasses had less urinary retention while not showing any significant differences in other complications compared to patients undergoing the standard treatment.

“Within this framework, VR glasses represent an efficacious, noninvasive, safe, readily implementable, and economical approach that reinforces its integration potential into nursing clinical practice,” wrote a research team led by Gamze Bozkul, PhD, from Tarsus University in Mersin, Türkiye. 

While TRUS-PB is the standard approach for assessing prostate malignancies, it may lead to complications in some patients. These include pain, acute retention of urine, blood in urine, blood in semen, rectal hemorrhage, erectile dysfunction, and infectious complications. 

Many patients also report psychological stress and anxiety related to potential cancer diagnosis and procedure-associated discomfort. 

Among the several nonpharmacological methods being explored toward patient comfort, VR glasses allow individuals to focus their attention in a different direction via a 3D environment. Prior reports have shown how nurses use these glasses in healthcare services to provide effective and high-quality care. 

In a prospective randomized controlled trial, the Bozkul team explored how VR glasses influence anxiety levels, patient comfort, and the occurrence of complications among patients undergoing TRUS-PB. The study included 70 patients, with 35 wearing VR glasses during biopsy and the remaining 35 undergoing standard care. Patients who wore the glasses viewed 3D nature-based video content throughout the procedure. 

The researchers used the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) to measure anxiety. This includes a score range of 20 to 80, with higher scores representing more severe anxiety. To measure patient comfort, the team used a visual analog scale ranging from zero (complete discomfort) to 10 (best comfort). 

While preprocedural anxiety and comfort measurements showed no statistically meaningful differences between the two groups, the glasses group showed significantly reduced anxiety and improved comfort levels compared to the control group. 

Most complications during the first 24-hour postprocedural period did not significantly differ between the two groups, with urinary retention being the exception. Five patients in the control group experienced urinary retention compared to zero patients in the glasses group (p = 0.027). 

Despite the lack of statistical significance for other biopsy-related complications between the groups, complications occurred less often in the glasses group, which the study authors called a clinically meaningful observation. 

“Particularly for prostate biopsy, which many patients experience initially and which carries cancer-related uncertainties, nurses may leverage VR’s comfort-enhancing properties,” they wrote. 

Read the full study here.