Adit Bassi
Introduction
Evaluating the impact of preoperative anxiety on theatre efficiency in paediatric surgical patients, leading to development of a co-designed virtual reality (VR) tool to reduce anxiety and improve preoperative experience.
Methods
Retrospective analysis of 203 day-case surgical patients aged 4-13 years at a tertiary paediatric centre. Anaesthetic room time, Post Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU) duration, and theatre turnover times were compared between children with or without anxiolytic premedication.
Further project engaged Children and Young People (CYP), via structured virtual focus groups, to inform VR anaesthetic room development. CYP feedback guided creation of a minimum viable product incorporating interactive features, virtual guide, with both rendered, and 360 degree environments.
Results
Premedicated children demonstrated significantly longer anaesthetic room time (18.7 vs 16.4 minutes, p=0.040) and PACU duration (33.9 vs 25.6 minutes, p=0.003), indicating a measurable impact of anxiety on operative flow. Theatre turnover times were not significant (14.7 vs 12.1 minutes, p=0.146), due to data unavailability. CYP identified ‘uncertainty’, ‘unfamiliar environments’ and ‘equipment’ as key drivers of anxiety, and expressed strong support for VR preparation. 75% reported that the VR environments would ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ reduce anxiety. Their input shaped content, interactivity and accessibility features.
Conclusions
Preoperative anxiety is associated with reduced theatre efficiency and prolonged post-operative recovery. This co-designed VR preparation tool already demonstrated strong potential as an engaging, patient-centred approach to familiarising children with the surgical pathway. Going forward, further evaluation in larger cohorts, alongside continued refinement and iterative testing, will establish its effectiveness in reducing anxiety and enhancing efficiency.
Authors
Adit Bassi, UCLH, London, United Kingdom