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By Jane Kirby, PA Health Writer
Music can offer an alternative to drugs to calm patients, say researchers.
Midazolam is sometimes prescribed as a sedative in NHS patients undergoing various procedures.
However, a clinical trial conducted in the United States found that music was also effective in soothing the nerves.
Their study involved patients with a type of regional anesthetic (peripheral nerve block).
A team from the University of Pennsylvania, written online in Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, said preoperative anxiety is common and can increase levels of stress hormones in the body, which can, on its own turn, impair recovery after surgery.
Sedatives used to treat anxiety can have side effects affecting breathing and blood circulation and require ongoing monitoring, they said.
For their study, 157 adults were divided into two groups, the first receiving 1 mg to 2 mg of midazolam, injected three minutes before the use of peripheral nerve block.
The second group listened to the Marconi Union Weightless music series via noise canceling headphones.
Anxiety levels were then scored using a recognized scale.
The results showed that patients in the music group had anxiety levels similar to those of the drugs – suggesting that music was just as effective in soothing the nerves.
However, patients in the drug group were more satisfied with their overall experience than those in the band.
The researchers suggested that it was perhaps because the patients were not allowed to choose the music they were listening to.
Doctors and patients also thought that it was easier to communicate without the music.
The team concluded: "Musical medicine can be offered as an alternative to the administration of midazolam before peripheral regional anesthesia.
"However, further studies are needed to evaluate whether the type of music, as well as its mode of diffusion, offer advantages over Midazolam that offset the increase in communication barriers."
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