Bach to the Basics: Implementation and Impact of a Postoperative, Inpatient Personalized Music Program for Older Adults

Nonpharmacological Prevention and Management of Delirium: Past, Present, and Future

Delirium has been recognized, documented, and examined for centuries. In 500 BC Hippocrates described hyper- and hypoactive forms of delirium. As medicine, surgery, and critical care have accelerated over the last century, so too has our understanding of delirium and its profound risks to patients, families, and health care teams. It has also been increasingly understood that it is the accumulation of risk factors that ultimately precipitates delirium and nonpharmacological interventions to reduce these risks remain the cornerstone of delirium prevention and management. However, over the last three decades, these nonpharmacological strategies have moved from a single-component approach to a multicomponent approach, targeting multiple risk factors. Additionally, our understanding of what constitutes a risk factor for delirium has evolved, and in particular, it has been recognized that delirium can sometimes be a byproduct of our interventions and health care systems. In the surgical setting, for example, optimization of risk factors prior to surgery, when possible, is now seen as a key way to prevent postoperative delirium. Similarly, critical care medicine now operates with the appreciation of the profound risk to patients of prolonged mechanical ventilation, sedation, and immobilization and seeks to minimize each to reduce the risk of delirium, among other negative effects. The future of delirium prevention and management lies in both better implementation of best practices that have been defined over the last three decades as well as taking more of a whole patient view. This includes harnessing the electronic medical record, artificial intelligence, and so on to risk assess and individualize care for each patient; restructuring care to reduce deliriogenic practices and care environments; redefining what usual care looks like (e.g., utilizing music and involving loved ones, etc.); policy changes to change systematic priorities. In this paper, we will explore the past, present, and future of nonpharmacological prevention and management of delirium across care settings.

Implementation of music in the perioperative standard care of colorectal surgery (IMPROVE study)

AIM

Patients undergoing surgery experience perioperative anxiety and pain. Music has been shown to reduce perioperative anxiety, pain and medication requirement. This study assessed the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing a perioperative music intervention.

METHOD

A prospective pre- and post-implementation pilot study was conducted to assess adherence to the intervention and the initial effect of music on postoperative pain scores (Numerical Rating Scale, 0-10) compared to a control group. Secondary outcomes encompassed pain scores throughout hospital admission, anxiety levels, medication usage, complications and hospital stay length.

RESULTS

Adherence to the music intervention was preoperative 95.2%, intraoperative 95.7%, postoperative 31.9% and overall 29.7%. The intervention did influence postoperative pain. Patient's willingness to receive music was high (73%), they appreciated the intervention (median 8.0, interquartile range 7.0-9.0) and healthcare professionals were willing to apply the intervention. Music significantly reduced postoperative anxiety (2.0 vs. 3.0, p = 0.02) and the consumption of benzodiazepines on the first postoperative day (number of patients: zero [0%] vs. five [10%], p = 0.04).

CONCLUSION

Implementation of music resulted in reduced postoperative anxiety and decreased consumption of benzodiazepines, and the strategy was feasible, but adjustments are needed to improve postoperative adherence. Both patients and healthcare professionals had a positive attitude towards the intervention.

Development and integration of a music therapy program in the neurologic inpatient setting: a qualitative study

PURPOSE

Explore facilitators and barriers to development and integration of an inpatient music therapy (MT) program from the perspective of the patient, family member, and health care professional.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This qualitative study recruited patients on acute neurosciences/neurorehabilitation units having participated in the hospital MT program, their family, and members of their health care team. Semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups were conducted with 35 participants (14 patients, 5 family members, 16 health care professionals). Interviews/focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were coded in duplicate and a codebook was developed through an iterative process.

RESULTS

Four dominant themes emerged from the data: (1) facilitators of program operations; (2) barriers to program establishment; (3) perceived positive impact on patient outcomes; and (4) opportunity for improvement. Facilitator sub-themes included a love for music that encouraged participation, broad appeal of MT, and support of the health care team.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients, health care professionals, and family members accepted MT as a treatment modality. While there is growing evidence for MT in neurorehabilitation, practical challenges remain in developing inpatient MT services, including funding, and optimal integration of music therapists into existing care teams.

Effects of Perioperative Music Therapy on Patients with Postoperative Pain and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: As a mind-body therapy, music may have a positive effect on patients with postoperative pain and anxiety. Objective: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to explore the effects of perioperative music therapy on postoperative pain and anxiety based on existing clinical trials. Methods: The Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Embase were searched from their inception to August 2022, selected the literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and completed the meta-analysis using RevMan 5.3. Results: A total of 19 eligible randomized controlled trials were enrolled, including 1803 patients. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the scores of pain (standardized mean difference [SMD], -0.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.26 to -0.53; p < 0.00001) and anxiety (SMD, -0.75; 95% CI, -1.19 to -0.31; p = 0.0008) decreased in the music group on postoperative day 1. The blood pressure (mean difference [MD], -5.29; 95% CI, -9.53 to -1.06; p = 0.01) and heart rate (MD, -6.13; 95% CI, -11.69 to -0.58; p = 0.03) also decreased on the same day. Further, the score of change in pain (SMD, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.68; p = 0.04) and anxiety (SMD, 1.35; 95% CI, 0.01 to 2.69; p = 0.05) increased between preoperative and postoperative days in the music group. However, the scores of hospital satisfaction (MD, -0.07; 95% CI, -1.40 to 1.27; p = 0.92) and incidences of postoperative nausea and vomiting (risk ratio, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.13 to 1.34; p = 0.14) did not decrease in the music group. Conclusion: Perioperative music therapy can significantly reduce postoperative pain and anxiety and avoid fluctuations in blood pressure and heart rate but does not improve patient hospital satisfaction or incidences of postoperative nausea and vomiting.

Implementation of music in colorectal perioperative standard care-barriers and facilitators among patients and healthcare professionals

AIM

Perioperative anxiety and pain are still prevalent among patients undergoing surgery. Inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer patients are known to have higher anxiety rates than the general population. Perioperatively applied music intervention has been proven to be effective in reducing perioperative anxiety and pain, resulting in a decrease of intra-operative sedative use, postoperative opioid requirement and neurohormonal stress response. IMPROVE evaluates the adherence to music intervention in colorectal perioperative standard care during systematic implementation.

METHOD

The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was used for implementation in three steps. This study addresses the first step in which barriers and facilitators for implementing perioperative music were identified by surveying patients who underwent colorectal surgery and healthcare professionals involved in perioperative care. Also, perioperative anxiety scores were assessed and data on perioperative pain was collected from the patients' medical records.

RESULTS

Fifty patients and 69 professionals (response rate 68.3%) were surveyed. For patients, all domains of the CFIR were facilitating implementation. The median reported preoperative and postoperative anxiety scores were 4.5 (1.0-7.0) and 3.0 (1.0-5.75) respectively. The median postoperative pain score on the first postoperative day was 2.8 (2.0-3.7). Also, for professionals most domains were facilitating, except for some factors related to work climate and culture among nurses.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study it was identified that facilitating factors for implementing music in standard perioperative care were more prominent in both patients and healthcare professionals and therefore successful implementation is probable. Also, this study provides a guideline for assessing facilitators and barriers in other settings.

Music Interventions and Delirium in Adults: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

Delirium is a neuropsychiatric syndrome represented by an acute disturbance in attention, awareness and cognition, highly prevalent in older, and critically ill patients, and associated with poor outcomes. This review synthesized existing evidence on the effectiveness of music interventions on delirium in adults, and music interventions (MIs), psychometric assessments and outcome measures used. We searched MEDLINE, PsychINFO, SCOPUS, Clinical Trials and CENTRAL for quantitative designs comparing any MIs to standard care or another intervention. From 1150 studies 12 met the inclusion criteria, and 6 were included in the meta-analysis. Narrative synthesis showed that most studies focused on prevention, few assessed delirium severity, with the majority of studies reporting beneficial effects. The summary relative risk for incident delirium comparing music vs. no music in postsurgical and critically ill older patients was 0.52 (95% confidential interval (CI): 0.20−1.35, I2 = 79.1%, heterogeneity <0.0001) for the random effects model and 0.47 (95% CI: 0.34−0.66) using the fixed effects model. Music listening interventions were more commonly applied than music therapy delivered by credentialed music therapists, and delirium assessments methods were heterogeneous, including both standardized tools and systematic observations. Better designed studies are needed addressing effectiveness of MIs in specific patient subgroups, exploring the correlations between intervention-types/dosages and delirium symptoms.

Rapid Rehabilitation Program Can Promote the Recovery of Gastrointestinal Function, Speed Up the Postoperative Rehabilitation Process, and Reduce the Incidence of Complications in Patients Undergoing Radical Gastrectomy

Objective

To explore the influence of rapid rehabilitation programs on gastrointestinal function, rehabilitation process, and complications of patients undergoing radical gastrectomy.

Methods

Of ninety-eight radical gastrectomy cases assessed for eligibility from January 2018 to July 2020, 43 patients who received routine perioperative nursing were assigned to the control group (CG), and 55 patients given a rapid rehabilitation program were assigned to the research group (RG). The recovery of gastrointestinal function, pain, nutritional status, complications, rehabilitation process, quality of life, and nursing satisfaction were compared.

Results

After nursing, in contrast to the CG, the RG showed significantly better recovery of gastrointestinal function (the first time to eat (t = 7.701, P < 0.01), the first time to anal exhaust (t = 9.342, P < 0.01), the first time to defecation (t = 2.061, P=0.040), and the recovery time to bowel sounds (t = 16.030, P < 0.01)), notably improved pain and nutritional status, and showed fewer complications (X² = 9.385, P=0.002). Rapid rehabilitation protocol also showed shorter recovery time and higher quality of life and nursing satisfaction of patients versus the routine perioperative nursing (all P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The rapid rehabilitation program can accelerate the recovery of gastrointestinal function and postoperative rehabilitation and reduce the incidence of complications in patients undergoing radical gastrectomy.

Implementation of music in the perioperative standard care of colorectal surgery: study protocol of the IMPROVE Study

INTRODUCTION

Perioperative music intervention has been proven effective in reducing anxiety, pain, neurohormonal stress response and medication requirement. Unfortunately, there is a gap between new effective interventions and their (interventions) integration in standard care protocols. The aim of this preimplementation and postimplementation study is to investigate the adherence to a music intervention in a tailored, multilevel, systematic implementation strategy and the initial impact of the implementation on postoperative pain in patients undergoing colorectal surgery.

METHODS AND DESIGN

A monocentre prospective preimplementation and postimplementation study was set up using The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to conduct a systematic implementation of music intervention in three phases. Primary outcomes are adherence to the music intervention and the initial impact of the music intervention implementation on postoperative pain scores on the first postoperative day. At least 100 patients will be included in the study. Secondary outcomes include adherence to the implementation strategy, penetration of music intervention in the standard care, assessment of the determinants for implementation, impact of the implemented music intervention on pain during the entire admission, anxiety, medication usage, complications, hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The Medical Ethics Review Board of Erasmus MC University Medical Centre Rotterdam, The Netherlands, has approved this protocol. The study is being conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Results of this trial will be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and conference presentations.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Dutch Trial Register NL8071.

Research status and prospect of peri-extubation delirium

Peri-extubation delirium is a clinical syndrome caused by multiple factors, and it is not a simple disease. It occurs within a period of time after extubation when the effect of general anesthesia is reduced. And the incidence is different in disparate populations, and it is more common in elderly patients. Current studies have shown that iatrogenic factors and patients' own factors are the main risk factors for the syndrome. Early identification of risk factors can help clinicians make early diagnosis. The earlier the diagnosis and treatment begin, the more significantly the prognosis of patients can be improved. At present, the treatment of perioperative delirium is based on non-drug therapy, supplemented by drug therapy. This review will introduce in detail the risk factors, population status and prevention measures of delirium during peri-extubation, and look forward to the new research direction in the future.

Overview and Strategy Analysis of Technology-Based Nonpharmacological Interventions for In-Hospital Delirium Prevention and Reduction: Systematic Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Delirium prevention is crucial, especially in critically ill patients. Nonpharmacological multicomponent interventions for preventing delirium are increasingly recommended and technology-based interventions have been developed to support them. Despite the increasing number and diversity in technology-based interventions, there has been no systematic effort to create an overview of these interventions for in-hospital delirium prevention and reduction.

OBJECTIVE

This systematic scoping review was carried out to answer the following questions: (1) what are the technologies currently used in nonpharmacological technology-based interventions for preventing and reducing delirium? and (2) what are the strategies underlying these currently used technologies?

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted in Scopus and Embase between 2015 and 2020. A selection was made in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Studies were eligible if they contained any type of technology-based interventions and assessed delirium-/risk factor-related outcome measures in a hospital setting. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed using a predesigned data form.

RESULTS

A total of 31 studies were included and analyzed focusing on the types of technology and the strategies used in the interventions. Our review revealed 8 different technology types and 14 strategies that were categorized into the following 7 pathways: (1) restore circadian rhythm, (2) activate the body, (3) activate the mind, (4) induce relaxation, (5) provide a sense of security, (6) provide a sense of control, and (7) provide a sense of being connected. For all technology types, significant positive effects were found on either or both direct and indirect delirium outcomes. Several similarities were found across effective interventions: using a multicomponent approach or including components comforting the psychological needs of patients (eg, familiarity, distraction, soothing elements).

CONCLUSIONS

Technology-based interventions have a high potential when multidimensional needs of patients (eg, physical, cognitive, emotional) are incorporated. The 7 pathways pinpoint starting points for building more effective technology-based interventions. Opportunities were discussed for transforming the intensive care unit into a healing environment as a powerful tool to prevent delirium.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42020175874; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=175874.

Registered nurses' awareness, acceptability and use of music for the management of pain and anxiety in clinical practice

BACKGROUND

and purpose: The use of music is increasingly being recommended for the management of patients' pain and anxiety by healthcare providers. The purpose of this study was to examine registered nurses (RNs)' awareness, acceptability and actual use of music for the management of patients' pain and anxiety.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional design was employed. Data were collected using a mailed questionnaire.

RESULTS

RNs were aware of the use of music for managing pain (4.42 ± 2.08, possible range 1-7) and anxiety (4.97 ± 1.85, possible range 1-7), and perceived use of music as low-to-moderately acceptable (mean scores ranging from 1.48 to 3.87, possible range 0-4). Further, 46% (n = 69) of RNs reported using music in their practice.

CONCLUSION

RNs have a moderate level of awareness and a low-to-moderate level of acceptability of music, with nearly half reporting use of music for managing patients' pain and anxiety in practice.