Impact of Virtual Reality on Pain and Anxiety During Intravenous Cannulation Procedures Among Thalassemia Patients in the UAE: A Crossover Clinical Trial

Background: Patients with β-Thalassemia frequently experience repeated hospital visits and cannulations, leading to chronic pain and anxiety, which adversely affect their quality of life. Virtual Reality (VR) has been shown the efficacity to manage the pain and anxiety associated with medical procedures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of therapeutic VR on pain, anxiety, fatigue, satisfaction, and boredom during intravenous (IV) cannulations in comparison to standard of care (SOC). Results: A total of 115 patients completed the SOC session and 111 patients completed the VR session. Overall, 82% of the patients were older than 18 years, and 51% were male. The mean anxiety score was significantly lower in VR group 2.24 (±2.6) than in SOC 2.92 (±2.3), (p=0.02). Similar to the anxiety score, the fatigue score was significantly lower in VR group 1.67 (±1.3) vs 2.65 (±2.2) in SOC group (p=0.01). No side effects were reported in relation to the VR intervention. Conclusions: The usage of VR for the intervention is feasible, safe, and well-tolerated by over 90% of thalassemia patients. VR effectively reduces anxiety and fatigue during cannulations for thalassemia patients. Clinical Trial Registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07099196, identifier: NCT07099196, registered 2025-07-05. This trial was registered retrospectively.