VR added to sedation showed no clear benefit during egg retrieval
A randomized trial tested relaxing VR content alongside usual sedation and found no statistically significant reduction in anxiety or procedural pain.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Adding virtual reality to standard sedation during egg retrieval did not produce statistically significant improvements in anxiety or pain compared with sedation alone. This abstract-based trial summary does not prove that virtual reality can never help, but it found no clear added benefit for the patients and setting studied.
The trial was unblinded and conducted at a single centre. The abstract raises possible subgroup benefits, but it does not demonstrate them; these suggestions remain questions for future studies.
What researchers found
Post-procedure anxiety score
STAI questionnaire after egg retrieval: VR plus conscious sedation versus conscious sedation alone. The difference was not statistically significant.
What was added
Participants used a headset showing nature films and relaxation exercises, with sound supplied through the device or headphones. Both groups received standard analgesia and sedatives, so the trial tested an addition to existing care.
What the null results mean
Anxiety was measured before and after retrieval, and pain outcomes included overall and peak pain. None showed a statistically significant between-group difference; that result does not demonstrate equivalence between the approaches.
The original publication
No anxiety or pain reduction by Virtual Reality during oocyte retrieval in IVF/ICSI treatment: results of a randomized controlled trial.
van Haaps AP, Schreurs AMF, Rosielle K et al.
Hum Reprod · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41057042
- Record checked
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