VRET in sepsis survivors

Critically ill patients admitted to the ICU often experience long term ICU related physical complications, psychological complications such as post-traumatic stress disorders and depression, and cognitive complications such as memory and attention deficit. These impairments are part of the ‘post-ICU syndrome’ (PICS). Of these patients, sepsis patients demonstrate a sharp decline of quality of life during ICU stay, which slightly improves at the ward but may persist until 6 months after discharge. Until now there is hardly any treatment to improve psychological recovery and quality of life after discharge from the ICU.

VRET (virtual reality exposure therapy) effectively circumvents the natural tendency to avoid traumatic memories by directly delivering multisensory and contextual cues that help the patient retrieve, confront, and process these experiences. Several recent studies showed beneficial effects of VRET for patients with several mental health disorders such as panic disorders, social anxiety, fear of public speaking, for the management of psychological stress, and in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. From a psychological point of view VRET may help to modify behaviors, thoughts, and emotions through virtual experiences designed for and adapted to the person’s needs, in order to facilitate and enhance a process of change. VRET can provide patients with detailed/visual information about their ICU admission and illness. We therefore hypothesized that VRET in sepsis survivors is feasible and safe and might be able to reduce psychological post-ICU syndrome-related impairments.



COUNTRY OF RECRUITMENT: The Netherlands

We hypothesized that a Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy in sepsis survivors is feasible and safe and might be able to reduce psychological post-ICU syndrome symptomatology such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

There are different moments of assessment:

1 - Four days after ICU discharge we will start with the specific designed questionnaire (before the intervention) for the concurrent assessment.

2 - Hereafter we will start with the VRET

3- After the VRET symptomatology will be assessed and;

4- 1 week after VRET (follow-up)

5- 1 month after VRET (follow-up)

6- 6 months after VRET (follow-up)

The VRET-ICU module encompasses a 1:1 real virtual, three dimensional (3D) environment that shows the current ICU of the Franciscus Gasthuis Hospital. This is a 16-bed ICU in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In this virtual environment, patients will see the ICU and will re-experience an ICU admission. During this structered tour different aspects of the ICU will be explained. Such as; explaining space design (i.e. ICU environment), modified procedures (i.e. ward rounds) and stressing several stressful experiences (such as intubation).



The control/placebo group will have a control experience. It exists of the VR Head-mounted-display without actual VR treatment, it consist of a freezed frame of a surrounding by choice.