Background: Each year, more than 40 severely burned children aged 7 to 17 are treated at the
CHU Sainte-Justine trauma center. The treatment of burns, dressing changes as well as
physiotherapy, occupational therapy and hydrotherapy are considered to be among the most
painful medical procedures. These are usually recurrent treatments that generate a lot of
anxiety and can leave their long-term negative impact on the child's memory and relationship
to pain. To date, no distraction has been tried to distract these children during these
painful procedures. The use of virtual reality as a distraction tool has proven itself as a
non-pharmacological therapeutic modality. However, very little data exists on its use in this
context.
Hypothesis: VR distraction provides better pain relief during hydrotherapy, occupational
therapy and physiotherapy, in children from 7 to 17 years old.
Methods: Within-subject/crossover study design. Each child serves as his own control and
receives both standard and experimental treatment during the same treatment session through a
randomized order. Convenience sampling of 20 children aged from 6 to 17 years old presenting
with a burn injury to the medical-surgical unit or rehabilitation clinics of the CHU
Ste-Justine and CRME. Standard pharmacological care as per the unit's protocol will be given
to the control group as opposed to VR distraction combined with the Standard care for the
experimental group. Pain (NRS 0-10) and anxiety (CFS, 0-4) will be measured before the
treatment session at (T0), after the first sequence of the session (T1) and after the second
sequence of the session (T2) followed by a measure of parents' and healthcare professionals'
level of satisfaction via a questionnaire developed and pretested by the team. Memory of pain
and anxiety will be assessed about a week after the procedure (T3). Data is also collected on
the occurrence of side effects.
Discussion: The investigators believe that results of this study could transform a hospital
experience that is a priori negative, or even traumatic, into a fun and positive experience,
both for the children and the families by improving pain and anxiety management practices for
rehabilitation procedures for burn victims (hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, occupational
therapy) at a low cost.