Effect of Music Therapy on Postoperative Health Outcomes (MToPOHO)

August 11, 2025 updated by: Naglaa Fathy Afifi Youssef, Cairo University

The Effect of Music Therapy on Acute Pain and Sleep Quality Among Patients Underwent Abdominal Surgery: A Randomized Control Trial

Patients underwent surgical procedure experiences acute postoperative pain, but less than half report adequate postoperative pain relief. The poor management of pain after surgery is associated with inadequate sleep and poor mood. Music therapy is described as a non-pharmacological technique to accomplish individualized patient's goals for hospital treatment. Music has been used as a healing approach. In Saudi Arabia, there is a lack of evidence related to the effect of music therapy on pain and sleep among patients who underwent abdominal surgery. Studies are needed to address additional aspects of pain management and the promotion of sleep among Saudi adult postoperative people by using non-pharmacological modalities.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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

Aim: The study will investigate the effect of music therapy on acute postoperative pain and sleep quality among patients undergoing abdominal surgery. A randomized control trial design will be demonstrated to accomplish this study. A total sample of 60 cases who underwent general abdominal surgery will be recruited. The study will be carried on in general surgery wards in one of a University Hospitals in Riyadh city, KSA. Four tools will be used to collect the data: Socio-demographic and medical data sheet, Pain Numeric Rating Scale (PNRS) for pain, Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Opinions Questions Regarding music therapy. The intervention group will listen to the selected prerecorded music on individual CD players by using a headset for consecutive three days. Music therapy will be given for 30 minutes during day time; depends upon the analgesics peak action time to avoid the bias of the intervention. Once again, it will be played before bedtime.

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.
60

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Omar Kasule, Professor
  • Phone Number: +966548867916
  • Email: irb@pnu.edu.sa

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 to 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients who will meet the following criteria will be eligible to participate in this study:

  • Adult patients, including both sexes and aged between18-60 years.
  • Had an abdominal surgery.
  • Give informed consent and are hemodynamically stabilized.
  • Willing to receive music therapy for three consecutive postoperative days by using Headset.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients will be ineligible to participate in this study if they have any of the following:

    • Hearing deficit.
    • History of chronic pain.
    • Metastasis cancer, on narcotic medication.
    • Dementia, or psychiatric diagnosis

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: Treatment
  • 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: Study group
The intervention group will receive routine hospital care alongside 30 minutes of music therapy per day for three consecutive days. The music therapy will be initiated on the second day postoperatively. The assessment of baseline data and the music therapy will be applied at least three hours after analgesics administration.
Other: Music therapy
The intervention is listening to selected prerecorded music, specific Raga, on the individual CD player.
No Intervention: Control group
Patients in the control group will receive routine hospital care only.

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
Pain Numeric Rating Scale (PNRS)
Time Frame: 3 days
The Pain Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) is a standardized scale, which measures pain severity. The Pain Numeric Rating Scale (PNRS) is a numeric version of the VAS. The PNRS has a single 11-point numeric scale in which respondents select a number from 0 (no pain) to 10 (severe pain) that reflects their pain severity. The PNRS has a high test-retest reliability in both literate and illiterate patients (r = 0.96 & 0.95, respectively). Therefore, the PNRS will be used in this study to assess the pain severity.
3 days
Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)
Time Frame: 3 days
The ISI is a widely used scale to evaluate insomnia. It consists of seven items; each item has a score of (0-4), where zero indicates no disturbance and four indicates very severe disturbance. The scale score gives four categories: no insomnia = 0-7; sub-threshold insomnia = 8-14; moderate insomnia = 15-21; and severe insomnia = 22-28. The Arabic ISI has ascertained satisfactory validity and reliability with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.84.
3 days

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
Opinions Questions Regarding music therapy
Time Frame: 3 days
This section has questions related to the participants' perspective regarding benefit in listening to music therapy during postoperative period in terms of reducing pain and improving sleep quality. There will be five questions which will evaluate the effect of music therapy in reducing pain and promoting sleep. This Question will be asked only to the participants in the experimental group at the end of the data collection. The questions are open ended or with dichotomous response (Yes or No). The results will be presented as percentage or frequency. There is no high or low answer, the score just reflects the participant's opinion on music as a therapy for reduce pain and improve sleep condition.
3 days

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.
Cairo University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University

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 (Estimated)

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.
December 1, 2027

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 30, 2028

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 30, 2028

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).
November 5, 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.
November 6, 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.
November 7, 2019

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.
August 14, 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.
August 11, 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.
August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • 19-0163
  • College of Nursing (Other Identifier: PNU)

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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