Effects of music therapy on pain, anxiety, and vital signs in patients after thoracic surgery

Objective To examine the effectiveness of music listening on pain, anxiety, and vital signs among patients after thoracic surgery in China. Design and setting A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in the thoracic surgery department of two tertiary hospitals in Wuhan, China. 112 patients were recruited and randomly assigned to either experimental ( n =56) or control ( n =56) group respectively. Intervention The experimental group received standard care and a 30-min soft music intervention for 3 days, while the control group received only standard care. Measures include pain, anxiety, vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate), patient controlled analgesia, and diclofenac sodium suppository use. Results The experimental group showed statistically significant decrease in pain, anxiety, systolic blood pressure and heart rate over time compared to the control group, but no significant difference were identified in diastolic blood pressure, respiratory rate, patient controlled analgesia and diclofenac sodium suppository use. Conclusion The findings provide further evidence to support the practice of music therapy to reduce postoperative pain and anxiety, and lower systolic blood pressure and heart rate in patients after thoracic surgery in China.