Effect of music on pediatric endoscopic examinations: a randomized controlled trial.

The primary objective was to measure the effect of music as an adjunct to sedation in patient anxiety levels during pediatric endoscopic examinations.  We performed a single-blind randomized controlled trial comparing music with no music in children aged 2 to 18 years. Anxiety was measured using the Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (m-YPAS) and the Visual Analog Anxiety Scale (VAS-anxiety). Patient perception of pain was evaluated with the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale (WBFPRS). Patient experience, family satisfaction, and endoscopist perception of difficulty were evaluated. Sedative doses were recorded. A total of 51 children were randomized to the experimental group and 49 children to the control group. The mean ages were 10.5 years and 12.3 years, respectively. There were 63 % female subjects with no differences between groups. Overall, there were 85 upper endoscopies and 15 colonoscopies. In the recovery unit, the experimental group had lower average m-YPAS scores (mean score 27.7 vs 34.7;  < 0.001), a higher proportion of them had low m-YPAS scores (80 % vs 49 %  < 0.001), had lower VAS-anxiety scores [mean score 0.55 vs 1.57 (  = 0.003)], and had lower WBFPRS scores [mean score 2.7 vs 1.3 (  = 0.001)]. There were no statistically significant differences found in the amount of standard sedation given to the groups, nor in additional sedation administered. In the experimental group, the patient-reported experience was significantly better. The study results show that music reduces anxiety and pain associated with endoscopic procedures in children. It also facilitates these procedures and improves patient satisfaction.