Pediatric anesthesia & critical care
Immersive Gaming Intervention Reduces Preoperative Anxiety and Improves Compliance in Children Undergoing Supernumerary Tooth Extraction: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors' conclusion
IGI effectively alleviates perioperative emotional distress, decouples psychological-physiological stress responses, and improves cooperation in children undergoing supernumerary tooth extraction.
Study context
- Population
- Children aged 4–12 years scheduled for supernumerary tooth extraction under GA
- Participants
- 102 children
- Comparison
- Immersive gaming interventions (IGI) vs standard care
- IGIn = 50
- Standard caren = 52reference
- Primary endpoint
- Anxiety-related emotional distress and somatic symptoms (SCARED scale, HR, HR variability LF/HF ratio)
- Follow-up
- Baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1), preoperatively (T2)
Methodological detailsprospective
- Prospective
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
SCARED score, HR, LF/HF ratio · preoperative stage (T2)
IGI vs Standard careMD (95% CI)
SCARED scores significantly lower with IGI; Cohen's d = 3.42
18.5(16.3–20.7)
LF/HF ratio
1.33(1.03–1.63)
IGI vs Standard careMD, bpm (95% CI)
HR
17.5(13.9–21.1)
- Large interaction effect sizes for reduction in emotional distress across all measures (partial eta squared range)
- 0.14-0.26
Secondary outcomes
Unstandardized beta
| Outcome | IGI | Standard care |
|---|---|---|
| SCARED-LF/HF slope (anxiety-physiology correlation) · T2 | 0.029 | 0.082 |
- SCARED-LF/HF slope (anxiety-physiology correlation) — Reduction in SCARED-LF/HF slope with IGI
- 65%
Treatment compliance (Frankl scale): active cooperation
- Superior active cooperation in the intervention group, RD
- 70.2% (95% CI 57.0%-83.4%)
Parental satisfaction (100-point questionnaire): "very satisfied" ratings
- Higher "very satisfied" parental ratings in the intervention group, RD
- 78.6% (95% CI 66.8%-90.4%)
Original publication
Immersive Gaming Intervention Reduces Preoperative Anxiety and Improves Compliance in Children Undergoing Supernumerary Tooth Extraction: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Paediatr Anaesth. Published 9 March 2026. doi:10.
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