Abstract
Virtual reality exposure treatment (VRET) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an emerging treatment. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness and safety of VRET in patients with PTSD due to motor vehicle or industrial accidents. Twenty-six patients with PTSD (19 motor vehicle accidents and 7 industrial accidents) and eighteen subjects without PTSD were enrolled in five VRET sessions that were conducted using a head-mounted display. The VRET was based on systematic desensitization and included psychoeducation and training for breathing and relaxation techniques. The effectiveness of VRET was evaluated using the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian version (PCL-C), Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), Clinical Global Impression-Severity scale (CGI-S), and Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS). Safety was assessed using the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire and Presence Questionnaire. After controlling for age, sex, marital status, job, economic status, and body mass index, we found that the CGI-S (F = 12.76, p = 0.001), PCL-C (F = 11.87, p = 0.002), IES-R (total score; F-8.31, p = 0.007), and SDS-A (F = 7.53, p = 0.010) scores in the VRET group were lower than those in the control group. Responses to the Simulator Sickness and Presence questionnaires did not differ significantly between the VRET and control groups (p > 0.05). In conclusion, for patients with PTSD due to motor vehicle accidents, VRET is a safe and potentially effective treatment method. Future randomized controlled studies are needed to provide stronger evidence for the effectiveness of VRET in patients with PTSD.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by an Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (No. 2017-0-00180, development of complex bio-signal response information-based intelligent virtual reality (VR) life care technology) and the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), Korea, under an Information Technology Research Center (ITRC) support program (IITP-2020-2017-0-01630) supervised by the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Promotion (IITP). This work was supported by an INHA University Research Grant.
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We certify that no party with direct or indirect interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer any benefit to us or any organization with which we are associated. In addition, we certify that all financial and material support provided for this research (e.g., NIH or NHS grants) are clearly identified on the title page of this manuscript. Conceptualization: Kim WH, Cho SU, Kang JM, Oh SH, Park JW, Bae JN, Cho SJ. Formal analysis: Kim WH, Cho SU. Cho SJ. Investigation: Kim WH, Cho SU, Kim H, Maeng S, Hong JP, Na KS, Cho SJ. Methodology: Kim WH, Cho SU, Kim H, Maeng S. Resources: Kim WH, Cho SU, Hong JP, Na KS, Cho SJ. Methodology: Kim WH, Cho SU, Kim H, Maeng S. Kang JM, Oh SH, Park JW, Supervision: Bae JN, Cho SJ. Validation: Oh SH, Park JW, Bae JN, Cho SJ. Visualization: Oh SH, Park JW. Writing - original draft: Kim WH, Cho SU. Writing - review & editing: Bae JN, Cho SJ.
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Kim, WH., Cho, SE., Hong, J. et al. Effectiveness of virtual reality exposure treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder due to motor vehicle or industrial accidents. Virtual Reality 26, 1539–1549 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-022-00623-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-022-00623-9