Interest of Virtual Reality in the Management of Anxiety and Pain Related to Post-cardiac Surgery Care (ARVACC)

April 2, 2026 updated by: CMC Ambroise Paré
This study compares Virtual Reality versus Nitrous oxide administration for the management of anxiety and pain related to post-cardiac surgery care, especially during removal of mediastinal drainage.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

After cardiac surgery, the mediastinal and pleural drains are usually removed the second postoperative day, in the absence of complications. This procedure, realized by nurses, is a source of anxiety and pain for patients.

Nitrous oxide (Kalinox®) is commonly used to manage many situations of anxiety, including the removal of mediastinal and/or pleural drains, and has shown a greater effect than placebo in this indication.

Virtual Reality (VR) is a recent technology that allows the representation of a pleasant environment in three dimensions with a complete immersion by a helmet. By distracting patients, this technology can reduce anxiety, discomfort and ultimately pain associated with care.

This randomized monocentric trial compares VR versus Kalinox® administration for the management of anxiety and pain related to post-cardiac surgery care, especially mediastinal and/or pleural drain removal.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
200

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • France
    • Île-de-France Region
      • Neuilly-sur-Seine, Île-de-France Region, France, 92200
        • CMC Ambroise Paré

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Extubated after cardiac surgery
  • Sinus rhythm
  • Consent for participation
  • Affiliation to the social security system

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pacemaker
  • Visual acuity making impossible the use of virtual reality
  • Intolerance to morphine
  • Contraindication to Kalinox®
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women
  • Patients under protection of the adults (guardianship, curators or safeguard of justice)
  • Communication difficulties or neuropsychiatric disorder

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: VR

VR Installation 5 min before the drain removal and stop 10 min after the procedure.

If Pain assessed by numerical rating scale (NRS) > 4, administration of morphine.
Device: Virtual Reality
Deepsen offers a VR platform that provides patients with immersive contents aimed to distract, inform, soften and improve the healthcare experience
Active Comparator: Kalinox®

Start of Kalinox® administration by inhalation with a facial mask 1 min before the drain removal and stop after the procedure according to the usual procedure of the service.

If Pain NRS > 4, administration of morphine.
Drug: Kalinox
Gas mixture composed of 50% Nitrous Oxide and 50% Oxygen

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Assessment of patient comfort
Time Frame: 30 minutes
Variation of the Analgesia / Nociception Index (ANI)
30 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Level of pain during drain removal
Time Frame: 30 minutes
Pain numerical rating scale (NRS) ranging from 0 to 10 (0=no pain, 10=worst possible pain)
30 minutes
Level of anxiety during drain removal
Time Frame: 30 minutes
Anxiety NRS ranging from 0 to 10 (0=no stress, 10=worst possible stress)
30 minutes
Morphine consumption
Time Frame: 1 hour
Cumulated dose of oxynorm (mg)
1 hour
Side effects due to Virtual Reality
Time Frame: 2 hours
Onset of vertigo, nausea or vomiting
2 hours
Patient satisfaction
Time Frame: 2 hours
Satisfaction verbal rating scale (VRS) ranging from 0 to 4 (0=unsatisfied, 4=very satisfied)
2 hours
Health staff satisfaction
Time Frame: 30 minutes
Satisfaction VRS ranging from 0 to 4 (0=unsatisfied, 4=very satisfied)
30 minutes
Side effects due to Kalinox
Time Frame: 2 hours
Onset of delirium, euphoria or headache
2 hours
Correlation between ANI and Pain NRS
Time Frame: 30 minutes
30 minutes
Correlation between ANI and Anxiety NRS
Time Frame: 30 minutes
30 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
CMC Ambroise Paré

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 26, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 24, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 24, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 16, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 16, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 20, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 2, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2019/01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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