• B S Sunitha Suresh, Gildasio S De Oliveira, and Santhanam Suresh.
• Department of Pediatric Anesthesiology, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
• Pediatr. Surg. Int. 2015 Feb 1; 31 (2): 197-201.

PurposeTo evaluate the analgesic effect of music and audiobooks in children undergoing major surgical procedures when compared to a control (silence) group.MethodsThe study was a prospective and randomized trial. Children undergoing major surgeries were randomized to one of the three groups: music, audiobook or control (silence). The primary outcome was the pain burden reduction by two treatments within 48 h postoperatively. Pain burden was measured using the area under the pain scale versus the 30 min interval for each treatment.Results60 patients were recruited and 56 completed the study. Pain burden was reduced in the music and audiobook groups compared to control, median (IQR) of -60 (-90 to 0), -45 (-90 to 0) and 0 (-30 to 90) (min × pain score), respectively, P = 0.04. A linear regression analysis demonstrated an independent group effect on pain reduction even after adjusting for the mean pain scores recorded at the beginning of the treatment, slope of regression line -56.8 ± 24 goodness of fit r (2) = 0.25 and slope significantly different from 0 (P = 0.02).ConclusionsAudio therapy is an efficacious adjunct method to decrease post-surgical pain in children undergoing major surgeries. Audio therapy should be considered as an important strategy to minimize pain in children undergoing major surgery.

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