The Effects of Music Therapy on Patients Undergoing Colonoscopy in a Tertiary Care Hospital at Karachi, Pakistan: A Comparative Study

Abstract

A colonoscopy is a procedure commonly used for the diagnosis of colorectal diseases but may be associated with high levels of anxiety and discomfort, which can lead to complications during sedation and decreased patient comfort and cooperation. This study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi to assess the effectiveness of music therapy on pre-procedural anxiety, sedation requirements, pain, and procedure duration among patients undergoing colonoscopies. This comparative study included 110 outpatients. The intervention arm received non-lyrical soft music through earphones before and during the colonoscopy procedure, while the control group did not receive any music. In the intervention arm, significant reductions were seen in pre-procedural anxiety scores (p < 0.001), physiological measures (p < 0.001), sedation doses (p < 0.001), and procedure durations (p < 0.05). Control arm showed an increase in heart rate and systolic blood pressure (p < 0.001). Pain scores were similar for both groups. Music therapy is an effective tool to reduce patient anxiety pre- procedure. It is a simple, safe, and noninvasive relaxing intervention that could be used as an adjunct to sedative medications before and during the colonoscopy procedure.

Keywords:

• Sedation
• monitoring
• quality management
• performance and complications

Ethics approval and consent

This study was approved by the University Ethical Review Committee and all data from participants was obtained after voluntarily signing an informed consent form.

Author’s contributions

AH and FI contributed to the conception and design of the work; and the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data; revised it and approved the submitted manuscript.

RB contributed to the design of the work; and the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data; revised it and approved the submitted manuscript.

LK and DB contributed to the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data; revised it and approved the submitted manuscript.

FA contributed to the revision of the manuscript and approved the submitted version.

Disclosure statement

The authors reports no conflict of interest. The authors alone is/are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Availability of data and materials

Confirmation that all figures and tables are original work created fully by authors for the purpose of this publication. The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.