Postoperative VR for Recovery After Bariatric Surgery

NCT ID: NCT04754165

Last Updated: 2025-07-14

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

106 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2022-03-21

Study Completion Date

2026-06-30

Brief Summary

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The objective of this study is to investigate whether the addition of immersive virtual reality (VR) in the immediate postoperative period to an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol could improve postoperative recovery from bariatric surgery.

Detailed Description

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The investigators propose conducting a randomized, controlled, single-center clinical trial of patients recovering from laparoscopic bariatric surgery. The objective is to investigate whether the use of virtual reality (VR) during the immediate postoperative period could improve patient reported quality of recovery and potentially reduce opioid analgesic requirements as compared to an existing ERAS protocol.

The investigators hypothesize that immersive VR will improve subjective quality of recovery scores at time of Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) discharge as compared to standard ERAS.

Conditions

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Bariatric Surgery Candidate Postoperative Pain Postoperative Complications

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Research participants will be randomized to one of two groups: immersive VR plus ERAS, or ERAS alone in a 1:1 allocation.

The first 6 patients enrolled will be assigned to the VR group for the purposes of a pilot phase with the objective of identifying and refining any issues with the intervention. Data for these patients will not be included in the statistical analysis.
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors
Assessors of the QOR15 recovery scale will be blinded to group assignment.

Study Groups

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Immersive Virtual Reality plus the enhanced recovery after surgery protocol

Patients in the immersive VR group will don a VR headset connected to a software platform on a tablet, as well as noise cancelling headphones in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU) after surgery. Patients can choose their desired experience within the VR software from a selection of immersive environments and/or video content. Examples include sitting in a canoe on a river, on a peaceful meadow or in a forest. Patients also have the option to listen to guided meditation or select from a library of videos to watch on a web-based user interface.

Patients in the VR group will also be treated according to the existing enhanced recovery after surgery protocol.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Virtual Reality Immersive Relaxation

Intervention Type OTHER

The VR software developed allows patients to select from scenery such as mountains, the beach or from a selection of short videos, which are intended to promote relaxation.

Enhanced recovery after surgery protocol

Subjects in the control group will only undergo standard enhanced recovery after surgery care.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Virtual Reality Immersive Relaxation

The VR software developed allows patients to select from scenery such as mountains, the beach or from a selection of short videos, which are intended to promote relaxation.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

\- Patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery at BIDMC under general anesthesia.

Exclusion Criteria

* Age\<18
* Open wounds or active infection of the face or eye area
* History of seizures or other symptom linked to an epileptic condition
* Patients with hearing aids who are unable to tolerate wearing headphones with their hearing aids
* Patients with a pacemaker or other implanted medical device
* Droplet or airborne precautions (as determined by BIDMC infection control policy)
* Non English Speaking or non Spanish Speaking
* Chronic opioid dependence (existing oral opioid prescription for \>3 months, methadone, suboxone)

Drop Out Criteria: (after enrollment and randomization, before intervention)

\- Surgery is converted to an open procedure (laparotomy), the patient will be withdrawn from the study as these patients are treated in a manner that is different than standard ERAS protocols
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

XRHealth

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Brian O'Gara

Assistant Professor of Anaesthesia

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Brian P O'Gara, MD,MP

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Locations

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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Espinosa-Leon JP, Mathura R, Chen G, Joseph M, Sadhwani T, Beydoun N, Hernandez ER, Riley T, Goodspeed V, O'Gara BP. Postoperative virtual reality for recovery after bariatric surgery: study protocol for a randomised clinical trial. BJA Open. 2024 Feb 5;9:100258. doi: 10.1016/j.bjao.2024.100258. eCollection 2024 Mar.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 38333728 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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2020P001149

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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