Study Summary

50 patients scheduled for elective total hip arthroplasty (THA) under spinal anesthesia were randomized to receive perioperative virtual reality (VR) exposure or standard care without virtual reality. The primary outcome of interest was perioperative anxiety measured using the State Anxiety Inventory. Secondary outcomes included perceived stress, pain scores, hemodynamic parameters, opioid and haloperidol consumption, serum cortisol levels, time to first rescue analgesia, and patient satisfaction. Outcomes were assessed preoperatively, intraoperatively, and up to 24 hours postoperatively. Overall, the results of the study revealed significantly lower anxiety, stress, pain scores at early postoperative time points, reduced opioid and haloperidol requirements, and higher patient satisfaction in the VR group. These findings suggest that perioperative VR is an effective nonpharmacological addition for improving psychological and analgesic outcomes in THA.