Randomized controlled trial investigating the effect of music on the virtual reality laparoscopic learning performance of novice surgeons

Abstract

Background Findings have shown that music affects cognitive performance, but little is known about its influence on surgical performance. The hypothesis of this randomized controlled trial was that arousing (activating) music has a beneficial effect on the surgical performance of novice surgeons in the setting of a laparoscopic virtual reality task. Methods For this study, 45 junior surgeons with no previous laparoscopic experience were randomly assigned to three equal groups. Group 1 listened to activating music; group 2 listened to deactivating music; and group 3 had no music (control) while each participant solved a surgical task five times on a virtual laparoscopic simulator. The assessed global task score, the total task time, the instrument travel distances, and the surgeons' heart rate were assessed. Results All surgical performance parameters improved significantly with experience (task repetition). The global score showed a trend for a between-groups difference, suggesting that the group listening to activating music had the worst performance. This observation was supported by a significant between-groups difference for the first trial but not subsequent trials (activating music, 35 points; deactivating music, 66 points; no music, 91 points; p = 0.002). The global score (p = 0.056) and total task time (p = 0.065) showed a trend toward improvement when participants considered the music pleasant rather than unpleasant. Conclusions Music in the operating theater may have a distracting effect on novice surgeons performing new tasks. Surgical trainers should consider categorically switching off music during teaching procedures.

The unity of music and surgery: Music application in the perioperative period

“…Mnogi su ispitivali uticaj muzike u operacionoj sali na osoblje i pacijente [69][70][71][72][73][74] . Studije su sprovedene širom sveta, a najveći deo je iz SAD-a, a zatim iz Velike Britanije i Indije.…”

Impact of established skills in open surgery on the proficiency gain process for laparoscopic surgery

“…Group sizes were chosen in accordance with previous studies on virtual reality surgical simulation [14][15][16]. For the study, 11 medical students with no surgical experience (group A) and 14 surgical trainees with open surgical experience (group B) were recruited.…”

“…Performance parameters Total operation time (s), instrument path length (cm), and number of instrument movements were recorded [14,19,20]. In addition, videos from the 1st, 5th, and 10th operations were blindly assessed by two independent assessors using two validated global rating tools: the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) and the Operation-Specific Surgical Skills Global Rating system [21,22].…”

Role of Music in Operating Room

“…Some surgeons claim to perform better with music, but others fear it has a potentially disturbing influence. The study by Miskovic et al [8] showed that music in OR may have a distracting effect on novice surgeon …”