The Effect of Jazz on Postoperative Pain and Stress in Patients Undergoing Elective Hysterectomy

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of music on patients after surgery in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). For many patients, surgery creates significant emotional stress and anxiety which can include discomfort or pain. Music therapy has proven to be a useful adjuvant in various inpatient and outpatient settings by providing a relaxing effect that decreases heart rate, blood pressure, and hormonal measures of stress. It has been shown that classical music can cause physiological and psychological differences in patient outcomes, but few studies have looked specifically at effects of jazz music. Some have argued that jazz may be too involved to provide the same relaxed state as classical music, but this may be due in part to the type of jazz played for the patient. It is our hypothesis that slow jazz music by artists including Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall, Dave Brubeck, etc. will reduce measures of stress and anxiety in patients in the PACU following surgery for hysterectomy (laparoscopic or robotic) to a greater extent than the control group. Jazz music or "no music" will be played through headphones to participants in the study post-surgically while they are in the PACU and measures of stress, anxiety, and pain will be monitored.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Pain; Anxiety
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Jazz music; Behavioral: No music

Detailed Description

• Patients will be identified the morning of surgery from the operating room schedule.
• The patients will be randomized to two groups: jazz music or no music.
• Head phones will be applied to all patients included in the study; in one group jazz music will be provided through the headphones. The second group no music will be played.
• Blood pressure will be monitored by a non-invasive blood pressure cuff at 5 minute intervals throughout the patient's stay in the PACU.
• Heart rate will be measured, using a pulse oximeter, at the same intervals as blood pressure.
• Before the patient leaves the PACU, she will be asked to rate her perception of her levels of pain and anxiety on scales that use a numeric scale of 1-10. The primary variable outcomes are: heart rate and mean blood pressure. Secondary outcomes include: perceived pain, anxiety, and level of relaxation.
• headphones will be used to deliver one of the following sounds to the patients: 1) jazz music (BPM<100) by artists including Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall, Dave Brubeck, etc.; or 2) no music providing.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 56
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, 17033
      • Penn State Hershey Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Undergoing elective hysterectomy (laparoscopic or robotic)
• ASA 1 or 2
• Normotensive
• Normal heart rate

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient does not wish to participate in the study
• Deaf or hearing impaired patients
• Ear deformities or abnormalities
• Pre-existing diagnosis of anxiety disorder, depression, substance abuse, or any other psychiatric diagnoses

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Jazz music; Jazz music will be played through headphones to post-surgical hysterectomy patients while they are in the post anesthesia care unit.	Behavioral: Jazz music; Jazz music from artists including Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Dave Brubeck, etc. will be played through headphones for post-surgical hysterectomy patients while they are in the post anesthesia care unit.
Active Comparator: No music; The patients in this group with have headphones but no music will be played.	Behavioral: No music; In this group no music will be played in PACU; Other Names: control group

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Heart Rate From Baseline on Arrival in PACU	Mean difference in heart rate from baseline measurement taken upon the patient's arrival to the PACU. Heart rate will be measured through pulse oximetry	5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 minutes after baseline measurement on patient's arrival in PACU

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Difference in Patient's Perception of Anxiety From Baseline Score Upon Arrival in the PACU	Upon arrival in the PACU, patient will be asked to rate her level of anxiety using a numeric rating scale from 0-10 (0 indicates no anxiety while 10 indicates extreme anxiety). After wearing headphones for 30 minutes, with either jazz music or no music, the patient will reassess her anxiety level. The difference between the 30 minute score and the baseline will be calculated.	Once, at 30 minutes after the patient entered the PACU
Mean Difference in Patient's Perception of Pain From Baseline	The patient will be asked to rate her level of pain using a numeric rating scale from 0-10 (0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates extreme pain). Baseline will be value upon entering PACU. The difference between the values at specific times and the baseline value will be calculated.	10, 20 , and 30 minutes after baseline measurement
Mean Blood Pressure	non-invasive mean blood pressure will be measured every 5 minutes for a period of 60 minutes	60 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sonia Vaida, MD, Penn State University; Principal Investigator: Jansie Prozesky, MD, Penn State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: March 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): January 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 30, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 16, 2013
• First Posted (Estimate): April 17, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): April 15, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 17, 2016
• Last Verified: March 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: pain; anxiety; stress; music; post-surgical
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Postoperative Complications; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Pain, Postoperative
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB 40925