Recent evidence has demonstrated the efficacy of Virtual Reality (VR) for stroke rehabilitation nonetheless its benefits and limitations in large population of patients have not yet been studied.

Virtual reality (VR) is being used more and more often as a therapeutic tool in psychology or psychiatry. In recent years, VR interventions appear more extensively also in disorders such as depression, anxiety and phobia. However, there has yet to be a comprehensive synthesis and critical review of the literature to identify future directions to advance the field in this area. To broadly characterize the literature to date on the application of VR in psychiatric disorders by conducting a systematic review of reviews, describe the limitations of existing research, suggest avenues for future research to address gaps in the current literature and provide practical recommendations for incorporating VR into various treatments for psychiatric disorders. PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched for reviews on VR use in psychiatric disorders (e.g. various pain perceptions, post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, psychosis, depression). The methodological quality of each literature review was assessed using AMSTAR. The original search identified 848 reviews, of which 70 were included in the systematic review of reviews. Broadly, the literature indicates that various VR interventions could be useful in different psychiatric disorders. This study provides evidence supporting the positive impact of VR therapy in psychiatric disorders. However, the impact is defined differently according to the studied area. Nevertheless, due to the continuous development of VR hardware and software, it is essential to conduct further research in the area of psychiatric disorders, especially as no review has concluded that VR does not work.

Objectives: To analyse the effectiveness of virtual reality-based interventions within several field...

Purpose: This study compared the effects of inpatient-based rehabilitation program of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using non-immersive virtual reality (VR) training with a traditional pulmonary rehabilitation program. The aims of this study were to determine 1) whether rehabilitation featuring both VR as well as exercise training provides benefits over exercise training (ET) alone and 2) whether rehabilitation featuring VR training instead of exercise training provides equivalent benefits. Patients and Methods: The study recruited 106 patients with COPD to a 2-week high-intensity, five times a week intervention. Randomized into three groups, 34 patients participated in a traditional pulmonary rehabilitation program including endurance exercise training (ET), 38 patients participated in traditional pulmonary rehabilitation, including both endurance exercise training and virtual reality training (ET+VR) and 34 patients participated in pulmonary rehabilitation program including virtual reality training but no endurance exercise training (VR). The traditional pulmonary rehabilitation program consisted of fitness exercises, resistance respiratory muscle and relaxation training. Xbox 360^® and Kinect^® Adventures software were used for the VR training of lower and upper body strength, endurance, trunk control and dynamic balance. Comparison of the changes in the Senior Fitness Test was the primary outcome. Analysis was performed using linear mixed-effects models. Results: The comparison between ET and ET+VR groups showed that ET+VR group was superior to ET group in Arm Curl (p< 0.003), Chair stand (p< 0.008), Back scratch (p< 0.002), Chair sit and reach (p< 0.001), Up and go (p< 0.000), 6-min walk test (p< 0.011). Whereas, the comparison between ET and VR groups showed that VR group was superior to ET group in Arm Curl (p< 0.000), Chair stand (p< 0.001), 6-min walk test (p< 0.031). Conclusion: Results suggest that pulmonary rehabilitation program supplemented with VR training is beneficial intervention to improve physical fitness in patients with COPD.

Needle-related procedures are often a source of pain, anxiety and fear in young patients. This systematic review aimed to investigate the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) on reducing pain, fear and anxiety in pediatric patients undergoing needle-related procedures. Pain, anxiety, fear, changes in blood pressure and heart rate as well as satisfaction were evaluated as outcomes during needle-related procedures in VR compared with standard care conditions. A meta-analysis was performed, taking into account online databases. Two authors independently conducted literature searches in December 2020. The last search was conducted in March 2021 from a total of 106 records, 7 met our inclusion criteria. One study was excluded from the meta-analysis due to insufficient data. VR was applied as a distractor during venous access. Statistically significant benefits of using VR were shown in children’s pain scores, where VR significantly decreased symptoms (n = 3204 patients, MD = −2.85; 95% CI −3.57, −2.14, for the Wong–Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale and n = 2240 patients, MD = −0.19; 95% CI −0.58, 0.20, for the Faces Pain Scale—Revised). The analysis of fear, anxiety and satisfaction scores revealed no significant differences between the conditions, as the studies were too heterogeneous to be pooled. Distraction using virtual reality may be an effective intervention for reducing pain in children undergoing needle-related medical procedures. However, further research in the implementation of VR as a distractor for children and adolescents is required, due to the limited research into this field.