The Effect of Live Bedside Music on Pain in Elderly Surgical Patients. A Unique Collaboration

Postoperative pain has a negative influence on physical and mental recovery and may result in a variety of postoperative complications. Listening to recorded music has been revealed to reduce pain, but in addition to that, live bedside music further offers the possibility to interact with the patient, respond to their emotions, and help them in adapting their conditions. It, therefore, seems appropriate for older surgical patients. This study examines the effect of live bedside music on postoperative elderly patients. The study was designed as a prospective clinical pilot study with a control group. During six separate weeks, between September 2016 and May 2017, data were collected using convenience sampling among the postoperative patients aged ≥60 years (n = 35) accounting to 83 sessions. The intervention was live music, person-centred improvisation and existing repertoire, performed by professional musicians of a collaborating conservatoire for 10–15 min, one session a day on three surgical wards of a university hospital. The control group (n = 43; 80 sessions) did not receive the intervention. –The primary endpoint was pain, measured with a visual analog scale (VAS; score 0-10) before the intervention and after 30 minutes and 3 hours of the session. Secondary endpoints were hemodynamic parameters, oxygen saturation, and respiratory rate and anxiety. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Mann-Whitney U test were performed to determine differences within and between groups. Perceived pain was decreased in the live bedside music group at the time of the first post-test and continued to be so for up to three hours (p = .004; p = .000). This decrease in pain was not observed in the control group. There was no clinically relevant effect on secondary endpoints. Live bedside music, performed by professional musicians, has a positive effect on the perceived pain of elderly patients after surgery. Further research on the underlying mechanisms as well as possible clinical implications is required.