Chen Yang, Meng Hui, Chen Qian, Wu Wendong, Liu HaiBin, Lv Shi, Huai Liang
Department of Rehabilitation, Taian Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Taian, China.
Department of Joint and Sports Medicine, Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Taian, China.
PeerJ. 2024 Dec 13;12:e18701. doi: 10.7717/peerj.18701. eCollection 2024.
Virtual reality technology has been proposed to rehabilitate cancer patients. This study aimed to summarize the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR)--based therapies for pain management in middle-aged and elderly cancer patients.
This meta-analysis was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023400432). We searched the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in PubMed, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase, conducted from construction until November 1, 2024. The study examined the effects of VR treatment on pain levels in middle-aged and elderly cancer patients using RCTs as primary or secondary outcome measures. Articles were evaluated for eligibility according to predetermined criteria, and each of the three researchers independently collected the data. The researchers used the heterogeneous selection effects model to calculate the mean effect sizes.
This meta-analysis included seven RCTs involving 476 patients. The meta-analysis confirmed the significant effect of VR therapy on the management of pain, anxiety, and depression in the middle-aged and elderly cancer population.
Our research shows that VR could be a significant device for cancer pain management in the middle-aged and elderly and that VR scene therapy may be more effective. Nevertheless, it is essential to use caution when interpreting the findings since the number of research included is small.
虚拟现实技术已被提议用于癌症患者的康复治疗。本研究旨在总结基于虚拟现实（VR）的疗法对中老年癌症患者疼痛管理的有效性。
本荟萃分析已在国际前瞻性系统评价注册库（PROSPERO，注册号：CRD42023400432）登记。我们检索了从建库至2024年11月1日期间发表在PubMed、Scopus、Cochrane图书馆、科学网和Embase数据库中的随机对照试验（RCT）。该研究以RCT作为主要或次要结局指标，考察VR治疗对中老年癌症患者疼痛水平的影响。根据预定标准对文章进行资格评估，三位研究人员各自独立收集数据。研究人员使用异质性选择效应模型计算平均效应量。
本荟萃分析纳入了7项RCT，涉及476例患者。荟萃分析证实了VR疗法对中老年癌症人群疼痛、焦虑和抑郁管理具有显著效果。
我们的研究表明，VR可能是中老年癌症疼痛管理的一种重要手段，且VR场景疗法可能更有效。然而，由于纳入的研究数量较少，在解释研究结果时仍需谨慎。
