• Nancy Ames, Rebecca Shuford, Li Yang, Brad Moriyama, Meredith Frey, Florencia Wilson, Thiruppavai Sundaramurthi, Danelle Gori, Andrew Mannes, Alexandra Ranucci, Deloris Koziol, and Gwenyth R Wallen.
• Nursing Department, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
• Integr Med Insights. 2017 Jan 1; 12: 1178633717716455.

BackgroundMusic listening may reduce the physiological, emotional, and mental effects of distress and anxiety. It is unclear whether music listening may reduce the amount of opioids used for pain management in critical care, postoperative patients or whether music may improve patient experience in the intensive care unit (ICU).MethodsA total of 41 surgical patients were randomized to either music listening or controlled non-music listening groups on ICU admission. Approximately 50-minute music listening interventions were offered 4 times per day (every 4-6 hours) during the 48 hours of patients' ICU stays. Pain, distress, and anxiety scores were measured immediately before and after music listening or controlled resting periods. Total opioid intake was recorded every 24 hours and during each intervention.ResultsThere was no significant difference in pain, opioid intake, distress, or anxiety scores between the control and music listening groups during the first 4 time points of the study. However, a mixed modeling analysis examining the pre- and post-intervention scores at the first time point revealed a significant interaction in the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain between the music and the control groups (P = .037). The Numeric Rating Score decreased in the music group but remained stable in the control group. Following discharge from the ICU, the music group's interviews were analyzed for themes.ConclusionsDespite the limited sample size, this study identified music listening as an appropriate intervention that improved patients' post-intervention experience, according to patients' self-report. Future mixed methods studies are needed to examine both qualitative patient perspectives and methodology to improve music listening in critical care units.

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