A randomized controlled trial on virtual reality distraction during venous cannulation in young children.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pain management in children is often inadequate, and the single most common painful procedure in children who are hospitalized is needle procedures. Virtual reality (VR) has been shown to decrease anxiety and pain in children undergoing painful procedures primarily in children from the age of 7 years. Our aim for this study is to investigate patient satisfaction and pain reduction by using a three-dimensional VR interactive game as a distraction in 4-7 years old children during venous cannulation. METHODS: In this randomized clinical trial, we enrolled 106 children aged 4-7 years who were scheduled for venous cannulation. Patients assigned to the control group were adherent to standard of care, including topical numbing cream, positioning, and distraction in this group by games of choice on a tablet/smartphone. In the study group, children were adherent to standard of care and were distracted by an interactive VR game. Primary outcomes were patient satisfaction and the procedural pain assessed by using Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale; secondary outcomes were the procedural time and any adverse events. RESULTS: We found an overall high level of patient satisfaction with our regime of topical numbing cream, positioning, and distraction. The primary outcome of pain during the procedure was median 20 mm (IQR 0-40) and 20 mm (IQR 0-55) (Wong-Baker 0-100 mm) in the VR group and the control group, respectively (difference: 0 mm, 95%CI: 0-20, p = .19). No significant difference was found in procedural times. The number of adverse effects was low, with no significant difference between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: VR distraction is an acceptable form of distraction for children 4-7 years old when combined with topical numbing cream and positioning during preoperative venous cannulation. No difference was found between VR- and smartphone/tablet distraction.

Inter-rater reliability of two paediatric early warning score tools.

BACKGROUND: Paediatric early warning score (PEWS) assessment tools can assist healthcare providers in the timely detection and recognition of subtle patient condition changes signalling clinical deterioration. However, PEWS tools instrument data are only as reliable and accurate as the caregivers who obtain and document the parameters. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate inter-rater reliability among nurses using PEWS systems. DESIGN: The study was carried out in five paediatrics departments in the Central Denmark Region. Inter-rater reliability was investigated through parallel observations. A total of 108 children and 69 nurses participated. Two nurses simultaneously performed a PEWS assessment on the same patient. Before the assessment, the two participating nurses drew lots to decide who would be the active observer. Intraclass correlation coefficient, Fleiss' κ and Bland-Altman limits of agreement were used to determine inter-rater reliability. RESULTS: The intraclass correlation coefficients for the aggregated PEWS score of the two PEWS models were 0.98 and 0.95, respectively. The κ value on the individual PEWS measurements ranged from 0.70 to 1.0, indicating good to very good agreement. The nurses assigned the exact same aggregated score for both PEWS models in 76% of the cases. In 98% of the PEWS assessments, the aggregated PEWS scores assigned by the nurses were equal to or below 1 point in both models. CONCLUSION: The study showed good to very good inter-rater reliability in the two PEWS models used in the Central Denmark Region.