音樂有助減輕手術疼痛和焦慮

Surgical patients who listen to music — even while they are under general anesthesia — have less anxiety and need less pain medication during recovery than those who do not, a large review of studies has found.

一項大型研究綜述發現，與不聽音樂的患者相比，聽音樂的手術患者在恢復期間焦慮程度較低，需要的鎮痛藥量也較少，即使他們是在全身麻醉狀態下依然如此。

The analysis, in Lancet, includes data from 72 randomized controlled trials. The studies covered various music genres, timing and delivery methods (speakers versus headphones), and procedures ranging from routine colonoscopy to open heart surgery. Researchers recorded length of stay in the hospital, measured pain using numerical rating scales, and estimated anxiety and satisfaction by self-report.

這項發表在《柳葉刀》雜誌(Lancet)上的分析共計納入了72項隨機對照試驗的數據。這些研究涵蓋了不同的音樂類型、播放音樂的時機以及播放方式（揚聲器還是耳機），涉及從常規結腸鏡檢查到心內直視手術等各種各樣的手術。研究人員記錄了患者們的住院時間，用數字評分量表衡量了他們的疼痛程度，並通過自我報告估計了他們的焦慮程度和滿意度。

Compared with regular care, music was associated with a 20 percent reduction in postoperative pain, a 10 percent reduction in anxiety and a significant reduction in the use of pain medication. It increased patient satisfaction slightly, but did not affect length of hospital stay.

與常規治療相比，音樂與術後疼痛減少20%，焦慮減少10%以及止痛藥使用顯著減少相關。它還令患者的滿意度略有增加，但對住院時間長短沒有影響。

Pain was reduced most when music was played before the operation, slightly less when played during the procedure, and least when played afterward, but the difference in timing was not clinically significant.

在術前播放音樂時減輕疼痛的效果最好，在術中播放時效果稍顯不足，在術後播放時效果相對最差，但播放時機之間的差異不具備臨牀意義。

“If you like music and find it calming, it might help a lot,” said the senior author, Catherine Meads, a reader in health technology assessment at Brunel University in London. “It might be that hospitals would want to tell patients that they can listen to music before the operation.”

“如果你喜歡音樂，覺得它能帶給你平靜，它可能會大有助益，”該研究的責任作者、《衛生技術評估》雜誌(health technology assessment)的審稿人、布魯內爾大學（Brunel University，位於倫敦）的凱瑟琳·米茲(Catherine Meads)說。“根據這一研究結果，醫院可能會建議患者，如果喜歡，可以在手術前聽聽音樂。”