Randomized clinical trial examining the effect of music therapy in stress response to day surgery

Background: Music therapy could reduce stress and the stress response. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of music therapy in alleviating stress during day surgery. Methods: Sixty patients undergoing day surgery were randomized to one of three groups, each containing 20 patients. Before and during surgery, patients in group 1 listened to new age music and those in group 2 listened to a choice of music from one of four styles. Patients in group 3 (control group) heard the normal sounds of the operating theatre. Plasma levels of cortisol and subpopulations of lymphocytes were evaluated before, during and after operation. Results: Plasma cortisol levels decreased during operation in both groups of patients who listened to music, but increased in the control group. Postoperative cortisol levels were significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2 (mean(s.d.) 14·21(6·96) versus 8·63(2·72) ng/dl respectively; P < 0·050). Levels of natural killer lymphocytes decreased during surgery in groups 1 and 2, but increased in controls. Intraoperative levels of natural killer cells were significantly lower in group 1 than in group 3 (mean(s.d.) 212·2(89·3) versus 329·1(167·8) cells/µl; P < 0·050). Conclusion: Perioperative music therapy changed the neurohormonal and immune stress response to day surgery, especially when the type of music was selected by the patient. Copyright © 2007 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Music reduces stress