INFLUENCE OF MUSIC ON THE STRESS RESPONSE IN PATIENTS RECEIVING MECHANICAL VENTILATORY

Music is one nonpharmacological interven-tion that is considered an ideal therapy forreducing stress in patients receiving mechan-ical ventilatory support.1 Music affects indirect mark-ers of activity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) in these patients, as evidenced by reductions in heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure.2-4 The central ner-vous system, however, has 2 main components involved in the stress response: the hypothalamic-pituitary-www.ajcconline.org AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRITICAL CARE, March 2007, Volume 16, No. 2 141 • BACKGROUND Music is considered an ideal therapy for reducing stress in patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Previous studies of the effect of music on stress in such patients have focused solely on indirect markers of the stress response rather than on serum biomarkers. • OBJECTIVE To explore the influence of music on serum biomarkers of the stress response in patients receiving ventilatory support. • METHODS A convenience sample of 10 patients receiving mechanical ventilation was recruited from an 11-bed medical intensive care unit. Patients were randomly assigned to listen to music or to rest quietl