Does Music Soothe the Anxious PICC or Port Patient
A cleverly-named study: "PICC the music and travel to the port of relaxation: The effects of music on perceived pain and anxiety in patients receiving PICCs and Port-A-Caths" explored how music impacted patients undergoing PICC or port insertion. Study participants were broken into three groups: no music, background music selected by staff or music selected by the patient delivered through headphones. In the PICC placement patients, no significant differences in pain, anxiety or blood pressure were noted in the three groups. For port placement patients, those listening to their own music with headphones had a significant reduction in anxiety compared with the no music group. To read the study abstract or purchase the full study, click here.
To read an expanded discussion of the study, pick up the Fall 2009 issue of the Journal of the Association for Vascular Access (JAVA).
Photo Credit: Youngdoo