Anxiety during the performance of colonoscopies: modification using music therapy

Colonoscopies are usually performed using pharmacological sedation. This process entails certain risks. In the search for alternative methods, some studies have analysed the effect music can have on patients during the procedure when used as a complement to sedation. We present a prospective, randomized study in which we assess the anxiolytic action music has when it is administered during a single colonoscopy.

We included 118 patients who were scheduled for ambulatory colonoscopies. They were randomly assigned to the control group (n = 55) and the experimental group (n = 63). We determined their levels of anxiety using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Test (STAI) form, which they filled in before and after the examination. Patients listened to music through personal headphones.

The score on the STAI form before the examination was 25.25 +/- 10.49 and 28.16 +/- 11.43 in the control and experimental groups, respectively (P > 0.05). The decrease of the score on the STAI scale after the colonoscopy in the control and experimental groups was 6.27 (95% confidence interval, 3.26-9.28) and 11.35 (95% confidence interval, 8.64-14.05), respectively (P < 0.01).

Listening to music during ambulatory colonoscopies decreases the level of anxiety that is inherent to the process without other anxiolytic methods.