Assessing the Impact of LIve Music in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to Improve Care for Critically Ill Patients

October 25, 2025 updated by: Joseph Schlesinger, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Assessing the Impact of LIve Music in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to Improve Care for Critically Ill Patients: A Pilot, Prospective, Single-center Study of Therapeutic Music

Noise in the ICU can worsen patient outcomes through factors such as increased cardiovascular stress, alteration in sleep, and increased discomfort or pain The purpose of this study is to determine the benefit of therapeutic music in the ICU on patients, their families, and ICU staff.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

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

Noise in the ICU can worsen patient outcomes through factors such as increased cardiovascular stress, alteration in sleep, and increased discomfort or pain. The purpose of this study is to determine the benefit of therapeutic music in the ICU on patients, their families, and ICU staff. The results of this study will inform clinicians on best practices for redesigning, implementing and evaluating a patient and family focused therapeutic music program in the ICU.

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 (Actual)

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.
111

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
    • Tennessee
      • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37212
        • Vanderbilt University Medical Center

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

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Patient Inclusion Criteria:

  • Current hospitalization in adult ICU at Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Patient Exclusion Criteria:

  • Airborne or special contact isolation
  • Unstable hypotension or bradycardia
  • Pregnancy
  • Current prisoner status
  • The inability to communicate either verbally or in writing in English to complete the therapeutic music evaluations
  • Refusal to participate

Family Member Inclusion Criteria

  • Family member of ICU patient

Family Member Exclusion Criteria

  • The inability to communicate either verbally or in writing English to complete the therapeutic music evaluations
  • Refusal to participate

ICU Clinical Staff Inclusion Criteria

  • ICU clinical staff who are in the patient's room during the music session

ICU Clinical Staff Exclusion Criteria

  • Refusal to participate

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group 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: Therapeutic Music Session
Behavioral: Therapeutic Music Session
The 20 minute therapeutic music session will consist of classical music performed by a pianist with or without flute accompaniment with an individual patient's ICU room.

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
Change in perceived pain visual analog score
Time Frame: Immediately before and after therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes long)
Comparison of patient reported perceived pain visual analog score using an 11-point numerical rating scale ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst possible pain).
Immediately before and after therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes long)
Change in perceived anxiety visual analog score
Time Frame: Immediately before and after therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes long)
Comparison of patient reported perceived anxiety visual analog score using an 11-point numerical rating scale ranging from 0 (no anxiety) to 10 (worst possible anxiety).
Immediately before and after therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes long)
Change in perceived relaxation visual analog scale
Time Frame: Immediately before and after therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes long)
Comparison of patient reported perceived relaxation visual analog score using an 11-point numerical rating scale ranging from 0 (not relaxed at all) to 10 (completely relaxed).
Immediately before and after therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes long)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM)
Time Frame: After conclusion of therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes)
Assessment of acceptability of therapeutic music session using the AIM which is a 4-item survey where each item is scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree). Higher total AIM scores indicate greater implementability. This assessment will be completed by patients, family members, and ICU clinical staff.
After conclusion of therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes)
Patient Perceived Impact
Time Frame: After conclusion of therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes)
Patient and family member perceived impact will be assessed using the Patient Music Evaluation Form. Patient and family member participants will complete this 2-item word choice question form to assess how live music made them feel (26 word choices offered eg., happy, sad, hopeful, energized) and whether the music performance made them do anything (20 word choices offered eg., laugh, smile, sing).
After conclusion of therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes)
Feasibility of Intervention (FIM)
Time Frame: After conclusion of therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes)
ICU clinical staff perceived feasibility of therapeutic music session intervention will be assessed with the FIM, a 4-item, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree). Higher total scores indicate greater feasibility.
After conclusion of therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes)
Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM)
Time Frame: After conclusion of therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes)
Assessment of appropriateness of therapeutic music session using the IAM which is a 4-item survey where each item is scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree). Higher total AIM scores indicate greater implementability. This assessment will be completed by ICU clinical staff.
After conclusion of therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes)
Perceived Barriers
Time Frame: After conclusion of therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes)
Perceived barriers will be assessed using qualitative analysis of a 2-item multiple response option and open-ended questions asking for feedback about facilitation and barriers to implementation of therapeutic music in ICU.
After conclusion of therapeutic music session (about 20 minutes)

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.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

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: Joseph J. Schlesinger, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

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.
May 31, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

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.
February 2, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

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.
February 2, 2025

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).
May 6, 2019

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.
May 13, 2019

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.
May 14, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

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.
October 28, 2025

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.
October 25, 2025

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.
October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • 190812

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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