Implementation of Music Intervention for Acute Postoperative Pain Management

Pain is expected as an aftermath of any kind of surgery, irrespective of the site or duration. A comprehensive pain management strategy is required to ensure a positive outcome in the postoperative period.

The purpose of the project was to evaluate the effectiveness of the music intervention as an adjuvant to the pharmacological measures for postoperative pain management measured by the pain scoring on the numerical rating scale tool and the amount of opioids measured by morphine milligram equivalent (MME) scores during postoperative days 1 and 2.

The project used two nonequivalent groups, and the data on the pre-implementation group was obtained by retrospective chart review. The postimplementation group was allowed to listen to music of their choice thrice a day for at least 30 minutes each time, and data was collected prospectively. The pain scores were analyzed using the t-test: two-sample assuming equal variances and MME score by Mann-Whitney U test.

The result demonstrated that music is statistically and clinically significant in reducing the postoperative pain score and opioids administered.

Music being safe and easily accessible should be advocated as an adjuvant with pharmacological measures for safer recovery after surgery. It is a nurse-driven intervention requiring no physician order and allows patients to control their plan of care better. Advocating for patient-chosen music allows healthcare team members to provide culturally competent care.