Abstract

Background: Surgery and anesthesia provoke anxiety in almost all the patients, causing increased sympathetic activity, leading to an increase in the heart rate (HR) and blood pressure. There is an increasing interest in evaluating the use of non-pharmacologic interventions to relieve anxiety in such patients, of which music is the easiest intervention.Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of pre-operative music intervention on changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP), HR, anxiety, and serum catecholamine levels in patients undergoing surgery.
Materials and Methods: A total of 100 patients were included, of which 50 each were assigned to the music intervention group and the control group. Serum catecholamine levels were assessed in 10 patients from each group due to the high cost of the test. Patients in the intervention group listened to music during the pre-operative period which was continued until the patient was rolled into operation theater. Patients in the control group received standard care. Data were collected preoperatively at time 1 (T1) in the pre-surgical area and at time 2 before induction in the operation theater and analyzed statistically.
Results: There was a statistically significant decrease in the HR, MAP, and anxiety score (two-tailed significance 0.00), in the intervention group as compared to those in the control group. In addition, there was statistically significant decrease in the serum epinephrine levels (two-tailed significance 0.039), but norepinephrine levels were not declined significantly in the control group.Conclusion: Music is a non-invasive and low-cost intervention that can be easily implemented in the pre-operative setting, and the findings suggest that pre-operative music can reduce HR, MAP, and anxiety.