by Playing soothing instrumental music during surgery may improve patient recovery, a new study says.
The peer-reviewed study was conducted at Lok Nayak Hospital and Maulana Azad Medical College in India on patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the standard keyhole surgery to remove the gallbladder.
The research, published in the journal Music and medicinewas conducted between March 2023 and January 2024 and examined 56 patients aged 18 to 65 years to reduce anesthesia requirements and reduce perioperative stress.
Gallbladder removal surgery is typically brief, lasting less than an hour, and uses a mixture of five or six medications to put the patient to sleep, relieve pain, prevent memory of the operation, and relax muscles on the operating table. Patients are usually given propofol, which causes loss of consciousness within seconds and allows them to wake up quickly with a clear head.
The main objective of the study was to compare overall propofol consumption between those who received music therapy and those who did not receive music therapy.
Breast cancer surgeon Aicha N’Doye (right) sings to calm a patient during pre-surgery anesthesia in the operating room at Bordeaux Nord Polyclinic, France (Getty)
All 56 patients received the same anesthesia regimen consisting of an anti-nausea medication, a sedative, fentanyl, propofol, and a muscle relaxant. Everyone wore noise-cancelling headphones, but only one group listened to music.
Patients were asked to choose between two Indian instrumental pieces ranging from gentle flute to piano. Many chose a flute composition that mixed the Hindustani ragas Yaman and Kirwani, chosen for their calming and uplifting tones, according to researchers.
The patients who listened to music required significantly less propofol, the primary intravenous anesthetic used to maintain unconsciousness. On average, they needed 6.7 mg per kilogram per hour, compared to 7.86 mg in the control group, a statistically significant difference.
The music group also required fewer additional doses of fentanyl, the opioid painkiller used to control spikes in blood pressure or heart rate during surgery.
Crucially, the physiological stress response to surgery – as measured by serum cortisol – was significantly lower in patients exposed to music. Postoperative cortisol levels increased to an average of 536 IU per ml in the control group, while they averaged 417 IU per ml in the music group.
The patients who listened to music also woke up from anesthesia more smoothly and reported higher levels of satisfaction 24 hours after surgery.
The study concluded that “receptive music therapy can be used as a safe and effective non-pharmacological adjunct to reduce intraoperative anesthesia requirements and improve overall patient outcome without side effects.”
Music therapy during medical treatment is not new. It has long been used to relieve stress, anxiety and pain before and after medical procedures. It is widely used in cancer treatment, mental health, palliative care, physical therapy and post-surgical recovery.
