The effect of music on discomfort experienced by intensive care unit patients during turning: A randomized cross‐over study

Abstract

Research consistently demonstrates that intensive care unit (ICU) patients experience pain, discomfort and anxiety despite analgesic and sedative use. The most painful procedure reported by critically ill patients is being turned. Music diminishes anxiety and discomfort in some populations; however, its effect on critically ill patients remains unknown. This research aimed to identify the effect of music on discomfort experienced by ICU patients during turning using a single blind randomized cross-over design. Seventeen post-operative ICU patients were recruited and treatment order randomized. Discomfort and anxiety were measured 15 min before and immediately after two turning procedures. Findings indicated that listening to music 15 min before and during turning did not significantly reduce discomfort or anxiety. Pain management might effectively be addressing discomfort and anxiety experienced during turning. Given previous studies have identified turning as painful, current results are promising and it might be useful to determine if this is widespread.

Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Pain, Agitation/Sedation, Delirium, Immobility, and Sleep Disruption in Adult Patients in the ICU

“…Daily sedation interruption can also be a useful intervention at reducing opioid consumption, provided proper assessment of pain precedes it (112). Music and massage, as recommended in these guidelines, have also been shown to reduce opioids (113)(114)(115)(116)(117). Selected adjunctive agents should be both patient specific (e.g., minimizing acetaminophen use with liver dysfunction or high doses of gabapentin with renal dysfunction) and symptom specific (e.g., use of ketamine in surgical ICU patients at high risk of opioid side effects) to improve pain scores, decrease opioid consumption, minimize new adverse effects, and reduce polypharmacy (Supplemental Fig.…”

Relief of Procedural Pain in Critically Ill Patients by Music Therapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…In a randomized crossover trial, Tan et al [26] found significant decreases in pain before, during, and after dressing change, another procedure identified by patients as particularly painful, compared to patients receiving no music therapy. In contrast, Cooke et al [27] investigated the effect of music on discomfort experienced by ICU patients during turning, another nursing intervention causing procedural pain, in a randomized crossover study and found no statistical differences between pre-turn discomfort scores between groups using a numerical rating scale (0–10). However, this finding could be due to a small sample size ( n = 17) and low discomfort levels at baseline.…”

Faces Anxiety Scale as a screening measure of preoperative anxiety: Validation and diagnostic accuracy study

“…Many ICU patients due to their health complications are not able to communicate and to respond to existing measures of anxiety. The FAS has been validated (Gallagher, Trotter, & Donoghue, 2010;Gustad et al, 2008;McKinley & Madronio, 2008;McKinley, Stein-Parbury, Chehelnabi, & Lovas, 2004) and used in various studies as a measure of change in state anxiety after intervention mostly in ICU patients (Aghaie et al, 2014;Cooke et al, 2010;Saadatmand et al, 2013). The FAS seems to be fast, economical, intuitive, easily administered and not cognitively demanding, and suitable for both clinical and research purposes (McKinley et al, 2004).…”