Is music the food of the anesthesia in children?

Background: The noise in an operating room may have a detrimental effect on human cognitive functions, and it may cause perioperative anxiety with prolonged exposure. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of music therapy and use of earplugs and normal noise level in the operating room under general anesthesia of pediatric patients on hemodynamic parameters and postoperative emergence delirium.

Methods: One hundred and five pediatric patients were involved in this study. The patients were randomly divided into three groups. Group N was exposed to the ambient operating room noise, group S received earplugs from an independent anesthesiologist, and group M used a CD player. The preoperative anxiety levels of children were evaluated with the Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (M-YPAS). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate were recorded at 30-minute periods until the completion of surgery, end of surgery and postoperatively. During each measurement, noise level recordings were performed using sonometer. Pediatric Anesthesia Emergency Delirium (PAED) score was evaluated after postoperative extubation.

Results: M-YPAS was similar between groups. The MAP at 30 and 60 min intraoperatively, at end of surgery, and at 5, 10, and 15 min postoperatively was significantly lower in group S than in group N. There were no differences in heart rate among the groups. Postoperative PAED score was not significantly different among the groups.

Conclusions: The music therapy was not more effective than silence and operating noise room in reducing PAED score postoperatively in pediatric patients.

Trial Registration Number: ClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT03544502).