Yes, this is a trial of music therapy. In the Emergency Department. What fun!
This is a convenience sample of 62 children up to three years of age being referred for head CT after minor trauma, randomized to either soothing music or none. Children were assessed for calmness by a visual analog scale of anxiety and a Modified Ramsay Sedation Scale before transport to CT. Then, music was either present or absent while the child was being positioned on the scanner. A second assessment of anxiety was then performed prior to CT.
The good news, as reported by the authors:
In conclusion, measured on a VAS, there was a significant decrease in agitation in children undergoing a head CT when children’s songs with integrated heart beat sounds were played before and during the procedure.
Unfortunately for their comparison, the control group was quite calm to start – with little room to improve – while the experimental group was fussier at baseline. And, even though the CT introduced some agitation into the control group, nearly identical numbers of patients in each group successfully completed their imaging. So, even though I think their intervention has value, the reliability of their conclusion is probably threatened by the chance baseline differences between groups.
But, it otherwise makes sense – and, it’s harmless, zero-cost intervention – so, why not?
“Randomized single-blinded clinical trial on effects of nursery songs for infants and young children’s anxiety before and during head computed tomography”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26314215