Virtual reality and audiovisual distraction for procedural pain and anxiety in Latin America

Introduction: Pooled evidence favors virtual reality distraction during painful procedures, yet individual trials disagree, and no synthesis has been restricted to Latin America. This review asked whether virtual reality and audiovisual distraction reduce procedural pain or anxiety compared with usual care or another distraction in controlled studies conducted in the region. Methods: Scopus, PubMed, OpenAlex and Crossref were searched in English, Spanish and Portuguese for records published from 2013 to 2025. Eligible reports described controlled studies carried out in Latin American countries, in children or adults. Synthesis was narrative because outcomes, comparators and procedures were heterogeneous. Results: The searches yielded 23 studies (1,721 participants) from 2,303 records. They came from Brazil (13), Mexico (4), Peru (3), Colombia (2) and Venezuela (1). Of 21 studies measuring pain, 12 reported lower pain with distraction, 6 found no difference, 1 was mixed and 2 compared two distraction formats. No study was judged at low risk of bias; 5 carried serious concerns. 11 reports could not be retrieved. Conclusions: Regional controlled studies lean toward benefit but disagree, mostly in small samples with open-label designs. The evidence supports using distraction as a low-cost adjunct while certainty remains low, and it does not allow pooled estimates.