Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
YOBÜ Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi, cilt.7, sa.1, ss.76-88, 2026 (Hakemli Dergi)
Abstract Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is an invasive but non-surgical revascularization method used in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease. It involves the use of catheters, typically advanced through the femoral or radial artery, to relieve narrowing or blockages in the coronary arteries through balloon angioplasty and/or stent implantation. It involves the use of catheters, typically advanced through the femoral or radial artery, to treat narrowing or blockages in the coronary arteries using balloon angioplasty and/or stent implantation. Pain is one of the symptoms experienced after percutaneous coronary intervention. If left untreated, pain can lead to respiratory and circulatory disturbances, suppression of the immune system, disruption of patients' sleep patterns, exacerbation of delirium, prolonged hospital stay, increased mortality and morbidity, and increased costs to patients. Although the use of common pharmacological interventions for pain after percutaneous coronary intervention is effective in relieving symptoms in the short term, their long-term use can cause serious side effects and high costs to the healthcare system. Therefore, adjunctive methods to reduce pain after percutaneous coronary intervention are needed. Recently, non-pharmacological interventions have been widely used in symptom management. Studies have shown that virtual reality goggles, one of the non-pharmacological treatments, are effective in controlling pain. It can be said that the effect of using virtual reality goggles, one of the distraction techniques, is related to the gate control theory and that this analgesic effect occurs by slowing down the pain impulses reaching the reticular system in the brain. Virtual reality goggles are a non-invasive intervention for pain management and an effective method that does not cause pain or side effects. However, publications investigating the effect of virtual reality on pain management after percutaneous coronary intervention are limited. Therefore, nurses should be knowledgeable about virtual reality goggles in pain management after percutaneous coronary intervention, inform the patient, and observe the effects of virtual reality goggles on the patient. The aim of this review is to draw attention to the use of virtual reality goggles as a distraction technique in pain management after percutaneous coronary intervention.
Keywords: Pain, pain management, nursing, percutaneous coronary intervention, virtual reality