Authors (including presenting author) :
Wong MC(1), Chan PC(1), Law KL(1), Chan SF(2), Lee MY(3), Wong YH(4), Lim HS(5)
Affiliation :
(1)KEC Pain Management Centre, (2) Health Resource Centre, (3) Day Surgery Centre, (4) Operating Room, (5)Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine, United Christian Hospital
Introduction :
Hypnosis increases receptivity to suggestion, capacity for perception and memory modification. It has been using in various pain conditions with positive effects. Virtual, augmented or mixed reality is a computer-based technology that allows the user to immerse in the environment, positive effect of virtual reality hypnosis has been reported in patients with neuropathic pain, burn wound dressing change and cancer pain. Mixed reality combines the benefits of both augmented and virtual reality, it allows the user to interact with physical environment and virtual object at the same time. This project is to explore the effect of mixed reality (MR) hypnosis for chronic pain management and examine whether it can be adopted in clinical setting.
Objectives :
1)Compare patient reported pain intensity before, during and immediate after MR hypnosis 2)Compare pain intensity and pain interference in terms of Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) before 1st and after 4th session of MR hypnosis
Methodology :
This was a retrospective service evaluation. Patients attended Kowloon East Cluster Pain Management Nurse Clinic (KECPNC) were invited to attend four consecutive MR hypnosis sessions. A self-developed MR hypnosis system was used with VR Hardware Oculus Go and tablet. Each MR hypnosis session lasts for 40 min which consists of assessment, 20 min MR hypnosis and debriefing. Patients were encouraged to have daily self-hypnosis at home with pre-defined audio hypnosis record. Exclusion criteria: 1) having pain or injury on head and neck; 2) known history of alcohol & drug abuse, claustrophobia, motion sickness & seizure, severe mental illness e.g., psychosis, schizophrenia & bipolar disorder.
Result & Outcome :
1)26 chronic pain patients attended 4 consecutive MR hypnosis sessions between Oct 2020 and Nov 2021. There were 9 males, mean age 49.7+/-14; 17 females, mean age 52.7+/-8.5 2)The mean self-reported pain intensity differed significantly among pre, during and immediately post MR hypnosis (p < 0.01). Post hoc analysis revealed that pain intensity significantly decreased from pre- to during MR hypnosis (P < 0.01) and from pre- to immediate post MR hypnosis (p < 0.01) 3)There was significant improvement in enjoyment of life (p =0.04) but not for sleep, relations with other people, normal work, walking ability, mood, general activity, pain intensity of BPI after 4th MR hypnosis session Conclusion MR hypnosis produces immediate and short term effect on pain reduction and enjoyment of life respectively. It can be considered as effective intervention in KECPNC
