Impact of background music on the performance of laparoscopy teams

Abstract

Background Acoustic conditions in the operating room have different impacts on surgeon’s performance. Their effects on the performance of surgical teams are not well documented. We investigated if laparoscopic teams operating under pleasant acoustic conditions would perform better than under noisy conditions. Methods We recruited 114 surgical residents and built 57 two-person teams. Each team was required to perform two laparoscopic tasks (object transportation and collaborative suturing) on a simulation training box under music, neutral, and noisy acoustic conditions. Data were extracted from video recordings of each performance for analysis. Task performance was measured by the duration of time to complete a task and the total number of errors, and objective performance scores. The measures were compared over the three acoustic conditions. Results A music environment elicited higher performance scores than a noisy environment for both the object transportation (performance score: 66.3 ± 8.6 vs. 57.6 ± 11.2; p < 0.001) and collaborative suturing tasks (78.6 ± 5.4 vs. 67.2 ± 11.1; p < 0.001). Task times in the music and noisy environments was subtracted to produce a music-noisy difference time. Pearson correlation coefficient analysis showed a significant negative relationship between the team experience score and the music-noisy difference time on the object transportation (r = − 0.246, p = 0.046) and collaborative suturing tasks (r = − 0.248, p = 0.044). Conclusions As to individuals, music enhances the performance of a laparoscopy team while a noisy environment worsens performance. The negative correlation between team experience and music-noisy difference time suggests that laparoscopy teams composed of experienced surgeons are less likely affected by an acoustic distraction than the noisy teams. Team resistance to acoustic distraction may lead to a new way for assessing team skills.

Influence of background music on stress reduction and impact on performances during students’ simulation exercises

“…17,18 Disquieting evidence from studies around the world shows that dental students are three times more susceptible to deteriorating mental and physical health than the average college student. [19][20][21] Scientific evidence for the beneficial effect of music on surgeons' task performances was given in a study written by Lies and Zhang. 22 The plastic surgeries showed improved efficiency of skin repair in a wound closure model when trainees listened to background music during their activities.…”

“…Depression and anxiety symptoms pose a threat to dental students coping capabilities 17,18 . Disquieting evidence from studies around the world shows that dental students are three times more susceptible to deteriorating mental and physical health than the average college student 19–21 …”

Sound perception in realistic surgery scenarios: Towards EEG-based auditory work strain measures for medical personnel

“…An objective evaluation of the subjectively experienced burden of the OR soundscape is challenging. Previous studies that have focused on the effect of sound on performance (i.e., surgery task performance) have found that only under extreme and unnatural conditions, such as dichotic listening to two pieces of music 14,15 , but not under more natural conditions, such as a single stream of OR sounds [16][17][18][19][20][21] , more mistakes in the surgery task were observable. However, medical personnel may strive to perform at high levels under adverse working conditions because mistakes can have serious consequences for the patient.…”