Operations: Music relieves fear and pain
Larissa Melville completed her traineeship in the editorial team of . After studying biology at Ludwig Maximilians University and the Technical University of Munich, she first got to know digital media online at Focus and then decided to learn medical journalism from scratch.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.Before an operation, all patients feel queasy: They are afraid of complications and subsequent pain. But there is an easy way to relieve both anxiety and pain: music in the operating room.
"We have known for a long time that music has a positive effect on patients during an operation - it calms and reduces pain," says Martin Hirsch of Queen Mary University of London. Now he and his colleagues are in the course of a large meta-evaluation of A total of more than 70 studies looked into the question of what effect music in the operating theater has on recovery after an operation.The results were compared with those of patients who received other non-drug support - such as massage or relaxation - or who only went through the normal clinical routine had gone through.
Effective even under general anesthesia
The researchers found that music significantly reduced the sensation of pain after a procedure, and thus also decreased the use of pain relievers. Even after a general anesthetic, the music eased the pain. In addition, the freshly operated on felt less fear. In addition, they were generally more satisfied than those who had been operated on who had to do without musical support. Which music was played, at what point in time and for how long apparently made little difference. However, the music had no influence on the length of the hospital stay.
In total, the researchers analyzed the data from around 7,000 patients. The subjects had undergone various surgical procedures with or without anesthesia. The scientists did not include operations on the head, neck or the central nervous system. With these, the hearing ability can be restricted, which would falsify the values.
Integrate music into everyday hospital life
The researchers are certain that music is a good and, above all, easy way to relieve pain and anxiety in patients after an invasive procedure. "There is ample evidence today that patients benefit from music during a procedure - so everyone should have access to it," says co-author Jenny Hole.
But co-author Catherine Meads knows about the current situation: "At the moment, music is not routinely used during an operation." Doctors are often skeptical as to whether the principle really works. In addition, the question naturally arises as to how best to incorporate music into everyday clinical practice integrated and financed. "We hope that this study puts the positive effects of music in the right light," said the expert.
Before the end of this year, the team will start a pilot project at the Royal London Hospital to integrate music into day-to-day operations. In the future, women will be able to rest on a pillow with built-in loudspeakers during a caesarean section and during the uterine specimen and listen to their playlist.
Sources:
Hole J. et al .: Music as an aid for postoperative recovery in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-673660169-6
Press release of the Queen Mary University of London from August 13th, 2015
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