Effects of Music Therapy on Anxiety Symptoms in Patients With Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation: A Randomized Controlled Trial
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Patient-Directed Music Therapy (PDMT), Environmental Control and Matched Interaction.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Anxiety, Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation. Basic parameters: from 50 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- China
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Overview
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of music therapy on anxiety symptoms in patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV). PMV patients, defined as those ventilated for more than 21 days, often experience intense psychological stress and anxiety due to long-term intubation and the ICU environment. High anxiety can lead to "patient-ventilator asynchrony," which delays the weaning process. In this study, 200 participants will be randomly assigned to either a control group receiving standard care or an experimental group receiving patient-directed music therapy. The music therapy intervention involves listening to selected music through noise-canceling headphones for 30 minutes, twice daily, over a 14-day period. The study will measure improvements in anxiety levels, pain, and sleep quality to determine if music therapy can help break the cycle of anxiety and facilitate recovery.
Detailed description
This is a prospective, single-blind, multi-center randomized controlled trial conducted at Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital and two collaborating medical institutions. Eligible participants are patients aged 50 or older who meet the diagnostic criteria for prolonged mechanical ventilation (ventilation duration ≥ 21 days for at least 6 hours per day).
Intervention Protocols:
Experimental Group: Participants will receive "Patient-Directed" music therapy in addition to standard ICU/rehabilitation care. A digital music library featuring classical, nature sounds, light pop, and traditional Chinese folk music (60-80 bpm) will be used. Music is delivered via medical-grade noise-canceling headphones at a volume of 60-70 decibels for 30 minutes, twice daily (10:00-11:00 and 15:00-16:00), for a total of 14 days.
Control Group: Participants will receive standard care and environmental control (noise and light management). To minimize bias, the interaction time between nursing staff and patients in the control group will be identical to that in the experimental group.
Outcome Measures:
Primary Outcome: Improvement in anxiety severity measured by the Visual Analog Scale for Anxiety (VAS-A) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S).
Secondary Outcomes: Pain levels assessed by the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT), sleep quality assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and successful extubation rates.
Statistical Analysis: Data will be analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and R 4.3. Linear Mixed Models (LMM) or Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) will be employed to evaluate longitudinal changes across four time points: baseline (T0), day 3 (T1), day 7 (T2), and day 14 (T3).
Interventions
- Other Patient-Directed Music Therapy (PDMT)
Music Selection: Patients or families select genres (classical, nature sounds, light pop, or traditional Chinese folk) with a tempo of 60-80 bpm. Equipment: Medical-grade noise-canceling headphones. Dosage: 30 minutes per session, twice daily (10:00-11:00 and 15:00-16:00) for 14 consecutive days. Volume: Limited to 60-70 decibels. - Other Environmental Control and Matched Interaction
Environmental Control: Minimizing noise and light interference in the ward, using silent earplugs and eyemasks when necessary. Matched Interaction: Nursing staff will spend the same amount of bedside time with control group patients as they do with the music therapy group to ensure consistency in care-related interaction.
Primary outcome measures
- Improvement in Anxiety Severity [Time frame: Change from Baseline (T0) to Day 14 of intervention (T3)]
Secondary outcome measures (3)
- Pain Severity [Time frame: Baseline (T0), Day 3 (T1), Day 7 (T2), and Day 14 (T3)]
- Sleep Quality [Time frame: Baseline (T0) and Day 14 (T3)]
- Successful Extubation Rate [Time frame: Up to Day 14 or discharge from ICU]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
\- 1、Age > 50 years 2、Diagnosed with Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation (PMV), meeting the following criteria: Continuous mechanical ventilation for ≥ 21 days Daily mechanical ventilation duration ≥ 6 hours Ventilation via endotracheal tube, tracheostomy, or non-invasive interface (face/nasal mask).
3、Voluntarily signed the informed consent form (either by the patient or their legal representative).
Exclusion criteria
- 1、Cognitive or psychiatric disorders: history of severe mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia, severe depression, bipolar disorder) or diagnosed moderate-to-severe dementia/cognitive impairment.
2、Presence of delirium: assessed as positive by the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU) prior to enrollment.
3、Extreme hemodynamic instability: unstable vital signs requiring frequent resuscitation, or in the acute phase of a severe cardio-cerebrovascular accident.
4、Untreated hearing impairment. 5、Physical conditions preventing safe earphone use (e.g., skin damage, burns, facial or cranial fractures).
6、Poor prognosis: end-stage disease or assessed by the investigator as having a life expectancy insufficient to complete the intervention and follow-up period.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Single blind
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
Study locations
China · 1 center
- Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital, Capital Medical University — Beijing
Publications
- Gerber JS, Prasad PA, Fiks AG, Localio AR, Grundmeier RW, Bell LM, Wasserman RC, Keren R, Zaoutis TE. Effect of an outpatient antimicrobial stewardship intervention on broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing by primary care pediatricians: a randomized trial. JAMA. 2013 Jun 12;309(22):2345-52. doi: 10.1001/jama.2013.6287. PMID 23757082
- Schilling G. Space science. Europe trumpets successes on Mars and Titan. Science. 2005 Dec 9;310(5754):1598. doi: 10.1126/science.310.5754.1598. No abstract available. PMID 16339416
- Rubin LH, Phan KL, Keating SM, Maki PM. A single low dose of hydrocortisone enhances cognitive functioning in HIV-infected women. AIDS. 2018 Sep 10;32(14):1983-1993. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000001930. PMID 29912061
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07560384 · 2026bkky-051