Effect of Music on Pain and Anxiety During Nail Biopsies

This study is looking at whether listening to music during a nail biopsy can reduce pain and anxiety. Patients scheduled for a nail biopsy at the Weill Cornell Medicine dermatology clinic will be randomly assigned to either listen to a calming instrumental/classical music playlist during their procedure or receive standard care without music. After the procedure, participants will complete short questionnaires rating their pain, anxiety, and overall satisfaction. The goal is to determine whether a simple, low-cost music intervention can improve the experience of patients undergoing nail biopsies.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Pain; Procedural Anxiety
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Music intervention; Procedure: Local anesthesia injections

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Shari R Lipner, MD, PhD; Phone Number: (646) 962-3376; Email: shl9032@med.cornell.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10021
      • Recruiting
      • Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Dermatology
      • Contact: Shari R Lipner, MD, PhD; Email: shl9032@med.cornell.edu
      • Contact: Rebecca Zhang, BS; Email: rez4002@med.cornell.edu
      • Sub-Investigator: Natalia V Chalupczak, BS

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or female ≥18 years of age
• Scheduled to undergo nail biopsy at the Weill Cornell Medicine dermatology clinic
• Able to provide informed consent
• Able to read and understand English

Exclusion Criteria:

• Significant hearing impairment that would prevent ability to hear the music intervention
• Cognitive impairment that would prevent completion of study questionnaires
• Unable or unwilling to provide informed consent

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: Music Intervention; Participants listen to a standardized instrumental/classical/relaxing music playlist beginning 2-3 minutes before local anesthesia and continuing throughout the nail biopsy procedure.	Behavioral: Music intervention; A standardized playlist of instrumental, classical, and relaxing music delivered to participants beginning 2-3 minutes before local anesthesia administration and continuing throughout the nail biopsy procedure. The music is intended to reduce procedural pain and anxiety as an adjunct to standard care.; Procedure: Local anesthesia injections; Local anesthesia injections
Other: Standard care/ control; Participants receive standard care during nail biopsy without any music intervention. No music is played during local anesthesia administration or the procedure.	Procedure: Local anesthesia injections; Local anesthesia injections

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mean pain intensity measured by Visual Analog Scale	Total scores range from 0-10 with 10 meaning worst pain imaginable	Immediately after the nail biopsy procedure

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mean anxiety score measured by short-form State-Trait Anxiety Inventory	Total scores range from 20 - 80 with scores higher than 34 - 36 indicating anxiety	Immediately after the nail biopsy procedure
Perceived helpfulness of music intervention (music group only) measured by single-item Likert scale	Likert scale ranges from 1 (not helpful at all) to 5 (extremely helpful).	Immediately after the nail biopsy procedure
Patient satisfaction score measured by single-item Likert scale rating overall experience	1=very dissatisfied to 5=very satisfied	Immediately after the nail biopsy procedure
Willingness to undergo future nail biopsy procedures measured by single-item yes/no question		Immediately after the nail biopsy procedure
Number of participants with adverse events related to the procedure		immediately after the nail biopsy procedure
Number of participants with adverse events related to the music intervention		Immediately after nail biopsy procedure

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Weill Medical College of Cornell University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Shari R Lipner, MD, PhD, Weill Cornell Medicine, Department of Dermatology

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 18, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 1, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 1, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): April 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 4, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 31, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: 25-12029644

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