Last week on The PediaBlog, Dr. Brian Donnelly submitted an interesting post on the healing benefits of music therapy for premature babies in neonatal intensive care units. In a study published in this week’s JAMA, researchers in Minnesota looked at the benefits of patient-directed music (PDM) compared to the use of noise-canceling headphones (NCH) and the “usual care” for adults requiring ventilation support in an adult ICU. While the noise-canceling headphones were helpful, it was music that alleviated anxiety and the need for sedation the most:
Among ICU patients receiving acute ventilatory support for respiratory failure, PDM resulted in greater reduction in anxiety compared with usual care, but not compared with NCH. Concurrently, PDM resulted in greater reduction in sedation frequency compared with usual care or NCH, and greater reduction in sedation intensity compared with usual care, but not compared with NCH.
Will it be long before there is a section in your Living Will devoted to the music you’ll want to hear to relieve anxiety and pain? If so, I’d request one of my all time favorite 60 minutes of music (begins at the 3:01:25 mark. I’ll want it loud!) here!