The effects of playing music during surgery on the performance of the surgical team: A systematic review
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Music is an economical, advantageous and reliable means of reducing stress or stress-related problems.
OBJECTIVE:
The present study aims to evaluate the effects of playing music during surgery on the performance of the surgical team through a systematic review of published studies.
METHODS:
The relevant databases of Medline/PubMed, Scopus and Science Direct were searched up to July 2018 to find related articles. The comprehensive literature search was reduced to 19 articles that met inclusion criteria.
RESULTS:
The articles comprised 13 studies and reported on the positive effects of music on the performance of the surgical team. The effects included a more relaxing and pleasant environment, more accurate and precise performance of tasks, a decrease in the mental workload and task completion time, increased situation awareness, a reduction in stress and anxiety and improved memory consolidation. Five studies reported on the negative effects of music during surgery as being a negative impact on task completion, poor auditory performance and increased likelihood of having to repeat requests. The remaining article reported no significant differences between groups compared.
CONCLUSIONS:
Most studies reported positive effects of music on the surgical team during surgery. These results indicate that it may be possible to improve the performance of the surgical team during surgery while playing controlled music.
Get full access to this article
View all access and purchase options for this article.
References
1. Miskovic D, Rosenthal R, Zingg U, Oertli D, Metzger U, Jancke L. Randomized controlled trial investigating the effect of music on the virtual reality laparoscopic learning performance of novice surgeons. Surgical Endoscopy [Internet]. 2008;22(11): [2416-20 pp.]. Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/o/cochrane/clcentral/articles/888/CN-00666888/frame.html https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs00464-008-0040-8.pdf
2. George S, Ahmed S, Mammen KJ, John GM. Influence of music on operation theatre staff. Journal of Anaesthesiology, Clinical Pharmacology. 2011;27(3):354.
3. Huang R-H, Shih Y-NJW. Effects of background music on concentration of workers. Work. 2011;38(4):383–7.
4. Shih Y-N, Chien W-H, Chiang H-sJW. Elucidating the relationship between work attention performance and emotions arising from listening to music. Work. 2016;55(2):489–94.
5. Shih Y-N, Huang R-H, Chiang H-SJW. Correlation between work concentration level and background music: A pilot study. Work. 2009;33(3):329–33.
6. Shih Y-N, Huang R-H, Chiang H-YJW. Background music: Effects on attention performance. Work. 2012;42(4):573–8.
7. Sengupta AK, Jiang XJOE. Effect of background music in a computer word processing task. Occupational Ergonomics. 2015;12(4):165–77.
8. van Bruggen-Rufi MC, Vink AC, Wolterbeek R, Achterberg WP, Roos RAJJoHsd. The effect of music therapy in patients with Huntington’s Disease: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Huntington’s Disease. 2017;6(1):63–72.
9. Ahmad M. Role of music in operating room. J Anesth Crit Care Open Access. 2017;7(5):00279.
10. Lies SR, Zhang AY. Prospective randomized study of the effect of music on the efficiency of surgical closures. Aesthetic Surgery Journal. 2015;35(7):858–63.
11. Siu K-C, Suh IH, Mukherjee M, Oleynikov D, Stergiou N. The effect of music on robot-assisted laparoscopic surgical performance. Surgical Innovation. 2010;17(4):306–11.
12. Allen K, Blascovich J. Effects of music on cardiovascular reactivity among surgeons. Jama. 1994;272(11):882–4.
13. Shakir A, Chattopadhyay A, Paek LS, McGoldrick RB, Chetta MD, Hui K, et al. The effects of music on microsurgical technique and performance: A motion analysis study. Annals of Plastic Surgery. 2017;78(5):S243–S7.
14. Thoma MV, La Marca R, Brönnimann R, Finkel L, Ehlert U, Nater UM. The effect of music on the human stress response. PloS One. 2013;8(8):e70156.
15. Fratianne RB, Prensner JD, Huston MJ, Super DM, Yowler CJ, Standley JM. The effect of music-based imagery and musical alternate engagement on the burn debridement process. The Journal of Burn Care & Rehabilitation. 2001;22(1):47–53.
16. Hawksworth C, Asbury AJ, Millar K. Music in theatre: Not so harmonious. A survey of attitudes to music played in the operating theatre. Anaesthesia. 1997;52(1):79–83.
17. Ullmann Y, Fodor L, Schwarzberg I, Carmi N, Ullmann A, Ramon Y. The sounds of music in the operating room. Injury. 2008;39(5):592–7.
18. Conrad C, Konuk Y, Werner P, Cao CG, Warshaw A, Rattner D, et al. The effect of defined auditory conditions versus mental loading on the laparoscopic motor skill performance of experts. Surgical Endoscopy [Internet]. 2010;24(6):[1347-52 pp.]. Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/o/cochrane/clcentral/articles/248/CN-00759248/frame.html https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007% 2Fs00464-009-0772-0.pdf
19. Makama J, Ameh E, Eguma S. Music in the operating theatre: Opinions of staff and patients of a Nigerian teaching hospital. African Health Sciences. 2010;10(4).
20. Zeinaly M, Aghdashi M, Afshar A, Masoudi S. Music and work process in the operating room. Urmia Medical Journal. 2010;20(4):324–7.
21. Conrad C, Konuk Y, Werner PD, Cao CG, Warshaw AL, Rattner DW, et al. A quality improvement study on avoidable stressors and countermeasures affecting surgical motor performance and learning. Annals of Surgery [Internet]. 2012;255(6):[1190-4 pp.]. Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/o/cochrane/clcentral/articles/692/CN-01019692/frame.html http://ovidstx.ovid.com/ovftpdfs/FPDDNCFBGHNMLI00/fs046/ovft/live/gv025/00000658/00000658-201206000-00028.pdf
22. Way TJ, Long A, Weihing J, Ritchie R, Jones R, Bush M, et al. Effect of noise on auditory processing in the operating room. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 2013;216(5):933–8.
23. Faraj AA, Wright P, Haneef JH, Jones A. Listen while you work? The attitude of healthcare professionals to music in the OR. ORNAC Journal. 2015;33(2):31-2, 4–50.
24. Weldon SM, Korkiakangas T, Bezemer J, Kneebone R. Music and communication in the operating theatre. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2015;71(12):2763–74.
25. Chung B, Shen J, Yang P, Keheila M, Abourbih S, Khater N, et al. Comparison of three different auditory environments and their effect upon training in novice robotic surgeons. Journal of Endourology Conference: 34th World Congress of Endourology, WCE 2016 South africa Conference Start: 20161108 Conference end: 20161112 [Internet]. 2016;30:[A66 p.]. Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/o/cochrane/clcentral/articles/499/CN-01293499/frame.html
26. Fancourt D, Burton TMW, Williamon A. The razor’s edge: Australian rock music impairs men’s performance when pretending to be a surgeon. Medical Journal of Australia. 2016;205(11):515–8.
27. López Ibáñez N, Ruiz De Casas A, Morales Conde M, Moreno Ramírez D, Camacho Martínez FM. Sociocultural aspects of the influence of music on healthcare staff working in the operating room (eng abstruct). Piel. 2016;31(4):236–41.
28. Tseng LP, Liu YC. Effects of noises and music on nurses’ mental workload and situation awareness in the operating room. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing. 2018, pp. 450–4.
29. Arora S, Sevdalis N, Nestel D, Tierney T, Woloshynowych M, Kneebone RJTAJoS. Managing intraoperative stress: What do surgeons want from a crisis training program? The American Journal of Surgery. 2009;197(4):537–43.
30. Scholey A, Haskell C, Robertson B, Kennedy D, Milne A, Wetherell MJP, et al. Chewing gum alleviates negative mood and reduces cortisol during acute laboratory psychological stress. Physiology & Behavior. 2009;97(3-4):304–12.
31. Moorthy K, Munz Y, Undre S, Darzi A. Objective evaluation of the effect of noise on the performance of a complex laparoscopic task. Surgery. 2004;136(1):25–30.
32. Sármány J, Kálmán R, Staud D, Salacz G. Role of the music in the operating theatre. Orvosi Hetilap. 2006;147(20):931–6.
Cite
Cite
Cite
OR
Download to reference manager
If you have citation software installed, you can download citation data to the citation manager of your choice
Information, rights and permissions
Information
Published In
Article first published online: September 6, 2019
Issue published: October 30, 2019
Keywords
PubMed: 31524187
Authors
Metrics and citations
Metrics
Publication usage*
Total views and downloads: 298
*Publication usage tracking started in December 2016
Publications citing this one
Receive email alerts when this publication is cited
Web of Science: 5 view articles Opens in new tab
Crossref: 7
- Perceptions of Intraoperative Music Among Surgical Trainees and Operating Room Staff: A Cross-Sectional Study in an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-Accredited Program
- Human Factors: Do They Impact Surgical Performance?
- Effect of noise on the performance of arthroscopic simulator
- Einflussfaktoren auf die Bereitschaft des medizinischen Behandlungspersonals zu perioperativem Musikkonsum
- Operating room organization and surgical performance: a systematic review
- The taste & affect music database: Subjective rating norms for a new set of musical stimuli
- Investigating the effect of background music on cognitive and skill performance: A cross-sectional study
Figures and tables
Figures & Media
Tables
View Options
Access options
If you have access to journal content via a personal subscription, university, library, employer or society, select from the options below:
I am signed in as:
View my profileSign out
I can access personal subscriptions, purchases, paired institutional access and free tools such as favourite journals, email alerts and saved searches.
loading institutional access options
Alternatively, view purchase options below:
Purchase 24 hour online access to view and download content.
Access journal content via a DeepDyve subscription or find out more about this option.
