Nature Sounds as a Pain and Anxiety Reducing Strategy in Patients Undergoing Breast Core Biopsy

March 2, 2026 updated by: University of Chicago

Nature Sounds as a Pain and Anxiety Reducing Strategy in Patients Undergoing Breast Core Biopsy: A Randomized Study

Patients will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: the group exposed to NS, or the standard care group exposed to supportive dialogue. Patients assigned to the former group will be exposed to continuous NS throughout the CNB procedure.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

For stereotactic biopsies, the experiment consists of six different parts: (1) A baseline 5 min biopsy planning period during which only imaging occurs after patient positioning and breast compression is complete, (2) One 2-min local anesthesia administration period during which the skin is injected with local anesthetic and an incision is made to insert the biopsy needle into the breast occurs ("stressor 1"), (3) One 2-minute post local anesthesia administration period during which imaging is obtained to confirm the position of the needle with respect to the target, (4) One 1-minute sampling period when the breast tissue is sampled ('stressor 2"), (5) One 2-minute post-CNB period, during which adequacy of obtained samples is confirmed and the need for additional sampling determined, and (6) One 2-minute period during which a biopsy marker clip is deployed and pressure dressing placed on the biopsy site.

For ultrasound biopsies, the experiment also consists of six different parts: (1) A baseline 5 min biopsy planning period during which only imaging occurs after patient is positioning, (2) One 2-min local anesthesia administration period during which local anesthesia is given at the site of biopsy and a skin incision performed ("stressor 1"), (3) One post local anesthesia administration period during which intra-procedure imaging and confirmation of adequate targeting occurs, (4) One 1-minute first-pass sampling period ('stressor 2") during which the biopsy device is advanced to the target for the first time and fired to acquire the first tissue sample, and (5) One 2-minute post-CNB period, following the first needle pass while sample adequacy is visually assessed and additional intra-procedure imaging occurs, (6) One 2-minute post-CNB period, during which a biopsy marker clip is deployed and pressure dressing placed on the biopsy site.

The total time for a single site CNB is approximately 30 minutes when performed under US-guidance, and 30-45 minutes when performed under stereotactic guidance. The added physiological recordings for this experiment are not expected to significantly prolong the duration of CNB procedures.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
200

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60637
        • University of Chicago

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 1) ≥ 21 years old
  • 2) present for CNB
  • 3) to be able to read and speak English
  • 4) provide written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Nature sounds exposure

Patients will be randomly assigned to either the nature sounds group or the standard care group.

Patients in the nature sounds group will be exposed to continuous nature sounds during the core needle biopsy (CNB) procedure.

The CNB procedure will continue as planned with nature sounds playing instead of the supportive dialogue. All sounds will be played out of a speaker situated in the corner of the room.
Other: Nature sounds
Nature sounds will be played for patients in the nature sounds exposure group.
No Intervention: Standard care (supportive dialogue)

Patients will be randomly assigned to either the nature sounds group or the standard care group.

The CNB procedure will continue as planned with supportive dialogue which will be played out of a speaker situated in the corner of the room. This group follows the current standard of care.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Measure of psychologic stress of patients and staff
Time Frame: From the start of procedure until the end, not to exceed 2 years.
Patients and staff will be required to complete a questionnaire. Questions are organized so to capture levels of psychologic stress. The answers will be compared across the two groups and descriptive statistics will be calculated.
From the start of procedure until the end, not to exceed 2 years.
Measure of physiologic stress of patients and staff
Time Frame: From the start of procedure until the end, not to exceed 2 years.
Parasympathetic activity will be measured by HF HRV in patients and staff. Descriptive statistics from these measurements will be calculated and compared across the two groups.
From the start of procedure until the end, not to exceed 2 years.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Chicago

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Kirti Kulkarni, MD, University of Chicago

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 11, 2017

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 1, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 1, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 3, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 2, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB17-0355

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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