Is there a role for music in reducing anxiety in plastic surgery minor operations?

A selection of abstracts of clinically relevant papers from other journals. The abstracts on this page have been chosen and edited by John R. Radford.

Abstract

In this study carried out in a hospital, the playing of music did not require a licence.

Main

Sadideen H, Parikh A et al. Ann R Coll Surg Engl 2012; 94: 152–154

And of note, the European Court of Justice has recently determined that the playing of music in dental rooms should also be exempt (Società Consortile Fonografici (SCF) v Marco Del Corso). Yet this has to be balanced with the BDA Advice Sheet (October 2011) Music in the Practice, that states that such does require a licence. This is a diversion from the main finding of the study that found the playing of music was associated with both lower subjective and objective measurements for anxiety in 96 patients receiving plastic surgery. Ambient music has been described by Brian Eno as 'actively listened to with attention or as easily ignored.' This study did not report as to whether or not this music was 'easily ignored'.