Virtual reality beats gas for Post-Surgery pain?
NCT ID NCT03956264
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether using virtual reality (VR) can help reduce pain and anxiety in people recovering from heart surgery, specifically when chest tubes are removed. 200 adults who had just had heart surgery were given either VR or nitrous oxide (laughing gas) during the procedure. The goal was to see if VR could be a better, drug-free option for managing discomfort.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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200 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Sep 2019
- Finished
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Jul 2020
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Extubated after cardiac surgery * Sinus rhythm * Consent for participation * Affiliation to the social security system Exclusion Criteria: * Pacemaker * Visual acuity making impossible the use of virtual reality * Intolerance to morphine * Contraindication to Kalinox® * Pregnant or breastfeeding women * Patients under protection of the adults (guardianship, curators or safeguard of justice) * Communication difficulties or neuropsychiatric disorder
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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CMC Ambroise Paré
Neuilly-sur-Seine, Île-de-France Region, 92200, France
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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