Music Therapy and Pain Management in Patients with End-Stage Liver Disease: An Evidence-Based Practice Quality...

Pain can negatively affect the inpatient hospitalization experience; however, in patients with compromised metabolic pathways who are more vulnerable to medication side effects, pain control becomes even more challenging.

This evidence-based practice quality improvement project explored the feasibility of implementing a music therapy intervention for improved pain management (pain intensity, analgesic volume) and patient satisfaction among patients with a diagnosis of cirrhotic end-stage liver disease in the acute care setting.

The plan-do-check-act cycle served as the implementation framework. Four nurse champions were trained to implement a 30-minute music intervention. Self-selected musical selections were delivered via unit-based iPads with earbud headphones during 3 consecutive days.

Data collection was performed using unit-based measures for pain and patient satisfaction and an investigator-developed audit tool. Bivariate analyses and descriptive statistics were used to assess the effect of the intervention on the three outcomes of interest.

Overall results from data collected with eight participants during a 6-week period indicated a 10% reduction in pain intensity and a 30% improvement in patient satisfaction with pain management care.

Findings from this evidence-based practice quality improvement project provide support for the effectiveness of music therapy as an adjunct to traditional pharmacologic modalities for pain management of the end-stage liver disease patient population.