Perioperative medicine & outcomes
Influence of Preoperative Virtual Reality on Preoperative State Anxiety in the Ambulatory Setting: The AMBLUMEEN Randomized Controlled Trial
Primary result · Change in STAI-YA score from arrival in the ambulatory unit (baseline) to immediately before operating room transfer (presurgery)Result — go to the resultAdjusted mean between-group difference −18.7 points 95% CI −21.4 to −16.1Authors' conclusion
A single 20-minute session of medical-grade VR significantly reduced preoperative anxiety in ambulatory surgery patients, with high acceptability and an excellent safety profile.
Study context
- Population
- Adult ambulatory surgery patients with moderate-to-severe preoperative anxiety (STAI-YA > 45)randomized patients (53 per group) · control 53 · virtual reality (VR) 53
- Participants
- 106 patients
- Comparison
- Standard care alone (control) or standard care and a single 20-minute preoperative VR session
- Controln = 53
- VRn = 53
- Primary endpoint
- Change in STAI-YA score from arrival in the ambulatory unit (baseline) to immediately before operating room transfer (presurgery)
- Follow-up
- Baseline to presurgery
Methodological detailssingle-center, intention-to-treat
- Single-center
- Intention-to-treat
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
Adjusted mean between-group difference
−18.7 points
95% CI −21.4 to −16.1
VR vs control
Adjusted mean between-group difference −18.7 points (95% CI −21.4 to −16.1)
Secondary outcomes
Median
| Outcome | Control | VR |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline STAI-YA (descriptive) | 49 (IQR 46–55) | 49 (IQR 46–58) |
Benzodiazepine requirement, postoperative pain, and unplanned overnight admission
- Comparable between groups
Global perioperative satisfaction
- High in both groups (median, on 10)
- 8 [8-9]
Parts of this Brief are withheld: the automatic checks could not confirm them against the abstract.
Original publication
Influence of Preoperative Virtual Reality on Preoperative State Anxiety in the Ambulatory Setting: The AMBLUMEEN Randomized Controlled Trial. Anesth Analg. Published 26 October 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →