Benefits of Immersive Virtual Reality on Dyspnoea During a Weaning Test in the Intensive Care Unit.

A weaning trial is a test that simulates physiological respiratory conditions after extubation in order to assess the patient's ability to breathe without the assistance of a ventilator. This test is highly susceptible to induce dyspnea, with 62% of patients reporting a dyspnea score on VAS greater than 3. Similarly, the prevalence of anxiety is high during weaning trials. 60% of patients treated in a respiratory weaning unit report psychological symptoms. Dyspnea can be a traumatic experience for patients. In intensive care, up to half of patients suffer from dyspnea, which is described by patients as one of the worst memories of their stay in intensive care. The virtual reality headset is a device that simulates a realistic, three-dimensional environment, allowing the patient to be totally immersed, so that they feel as if they are really present in a virtual world. This environment can be combined with hypnotic verbal support. The research hypothesis is that virtual reality during a spontaneous breathing trial would relieve the respiratory discomfort induced by the weaning trial. The secondary hypotheses are that virtual reality could reduce the anxiety associated with spontaneous breathing trials. These benefits could be associated to a reduction in ventilatory drive. To assess dyspnea a VAS scale will be used, as the MV-RDOS scale, and the amplitude of EMG activity of inspiratory muscles.