Does Music during Image-Guided Procedures Reduce Patient Anxiety Levels?

Abstract

Anxiety is a psychological condition that can affect anyone at any given point of time. Patients undergoing interventions are especially prone to anxiety. Several studies have shown that music can be efficacious in calming patients in the hospital setup. In this study, we studied the effect of music in the context of image-guided interventions such as biopsies, fine-needle aspiration cytology, thoracocentesis, and paracentesis. It was found that there was a substantial reduction in the rise of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and a reduction in the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory state anxiety inventory scale values in the music group as compared with the control group during the procedure which was also statistically significant (p = 0.001). Music can be an exceptional tool in patient anxiety reduction as it is widely available, economical, and easy to dispense. Based on these results, we can conclude that patients undergoing image-guided procedures should be offered a choice to listen to music of their preference to reduce situational anxiety levels.