Enhancing Patient Comfort in Prostate Biopsy Through Video Education and Virtual Reality

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of video-based preprocedural patient education and intraoperative virtual reality (VR) support on pain intensity (VAS) and willingness to undergo repeat biopsy (WtR) in patients undergoing transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy. Materials and Methods: The data of 240 patients who underwent their first TRUS-guided prostate biopsy for suspected prostate cancer between January 2023 and August 2025 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into one of four groups based on whether they received preprocedural video education and whether they wore VR headsets during the procedure. The primary endpoint was the pain level during biopsy (VAS), and the secondary endpoint was willingness to undergo a repeat biopsy under the same conditions (WtR). Results: Pain intensity (VAS) and willingness-to-repeat (WtR) scores differed significantly among the four groups (both p < 0.001), with the Video + VR group showing the lowest mean VAS score (2.63 ± 1.31) and the highest mean WtR score (8.25 ± 0.98), while the control group had the highest VAS (4.03 ± 1.62) and the lowest WtR (6.92 ± 1.03). Overall complication rates were low and similar between groups (4.6%, p = 0.343). Conclusion: Video-based preprocedural education combined with real-time VR support during TRUS-guided biopsy significantly reduces pain and increases patients’ willingness to undergo a repeat procedure. This non-invasive, low-cost, and easily applicable alternative represents an effective strategy to improve patient experience.