Virtual Reality and Standard Care vs. Standard Care Alone for Acute MSK Pain in Geriatric ED Patients

Description

The proposed Virtual Reality as an Adjunct to Pain Management for Geriatric Patients in the ED (VRAP-ED) project will take place in the Emergency Medicine Department at Maimonides Medical Center. It seeks to enhance the analgesic practices for geriatric patients with acute painful conditions in the emergency setting. Although virtual reality (VR) has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing pain and anxiety in various clinical settings for juveniles and adults, the analgesic efficacy of VR for geriatric ED patients lacks established data. The project will use a geriatric-focused VR platform. The project intends to improve pain management for almost 200 geriatric patients by evaluating the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) in reducing pain and its impact on anxiety \& stress reduction. The research project will conduct a randomized clinical trial to investigate the analgesic efficacy and impact on anxiety \& stress by using VR as an adjunct to the standard of care (SOC) for pain management in elderly patients presenting to the ED with acute musculoskeletal pain. This will be investigated through a prospective, randomized, non-blinded clinical trial conducted over two years. Eligible patients will be randomly assigned to either the control (SOC) or intervention (SOC+VR) groups. The expected outcomes of this research study will provide insight into the feasibility of using VR in a busy emergency setting for one of the most commonly encountered painful syndromes and to assess the analgesic efficacy as well as the satisfaction of VR application by both patients and ED clinicians.

Conditions

Acute Musculoskeletal Pain

Study Overview

Study Details

Study overview

The proposed Virtual Reality as an Adjunct to Pain Management for Geriatric Patients in the ED (VRAP-ED) project will take place in the Emergency Medicine Department at Maimonides Medical Center. It seeks to enhance the analgesic practices for geriatric patients with acute painful conditions in the emergency setting. Although virtual reality (VR) has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing pain and anxiety in various clinical settings for juveniles and adults, the analgesic efficacy of VR for geriatric ED patients lacks established data. The project will use a geriatric-focused VR platform. The project intends to improve pain management for almost 200 geriatric patients by evaluating the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) in reducing pain and its impact on anxiety \& stress reduction. The research project will conduct a randomized clinical trial to investigate the analgesic efficacy and impact on anxiety \& stress by using VR as an adjunct to the standard of care (SOC) for pain management in elderly patients presenting to the ED with acute musculoskeletal pain. This will be investigated through a prospective, randomized, non-blinded clinical trial conducted over two years. Eligible patients will be randomly assigned to either the control (SOC) or intervention (SOC+VR) groups. The expected outcomes of this research study will provide insight into the feasibility of using VR in a busy emergency setting for one of the most commonly encountered painful syndromes and to assess the analgesic efficacy as well as the satisfaction of VR application by both patients and ED clinicians.

Combination of Virtual Reality and Standard of Care Versus Standard of Care Alone for Acute Musculoskeletal Pain Management in Geriatric Emergency Department Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Virtual Reality and Standard Care vs. Standard Care Alone for Acute MSK Pain in Geriatric ED Patients

Condition
Acute Musculoskeletal Pain
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Brooklyn

Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, United States, 11219

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • * age of 65+
  • * Emergency Medicine patients
  • * non traumatic musculoskeletal painful condition
  • * pain score of 4+ on the numeric rating scale
  • * patient will warrant parenteral analgesia per treating physician
  • * patient will have to be awake, alert, and oriented to person, place, and time.
  • * comprehension of informed consent process and study related content
  • * ability to complete assessments
  • * painful syndrome requiring emergent and/or urgent pain control
  • * altered mental status
  • * unstable vital signs
  • * history of recent epilepsy
  • * seizure disorder
  • * vertigo
  • * active headache
  • * nausea
  • * motion sickness
  • * dizziness

Ages Eligible for Study

65 Years to 120 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Collaborators and Investigators

Antonios Likourezos,

Sergey Motov, MD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Maimonides Medical Center

Study Record Dates

2026-12-31