Abstract
Purpose :
Patients undergoing ophthalmic surgery routinely experience anxiety and stress. Music has been shown to diminish anxiety for cataract surgery, but the role of television watching (TV) has not been examined. This study aimed to investigate the effects of music and TV on anxiety and hypertensive events during cataract surgery.
Methods :
Of the 409 participants undergoing cataract surgery (63.8% female, mean age 70.2), they were randomized to one of three groups: 138 listened to music (classical), 133 watched TV (home improvement), and 138 were in the control group (ambient noise) for 20 minutes prior to surgery. Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and anxiety level (Visual Analog Scale [VAS]) were measured before and after the intervention. Intraoperative hypertensive events, defined as SBP ≥ 160 or DBP ≥ 100 with HR ≥ 85, were recorded. Statistical analysis included chi-square, Fisher exact test, t test, and Mann-Whitney test, and logistic regression model with significance at p < 0.05.
Results :
Baseline characteristics were similar across groups. Both music and TV groups had significantly lower anxiety levels (VAS) after the intervention compared to controls (p < 0.05), with music showing the greatest decrease in VAS (Med = 0, [IQR -2 to 0]). No significant reduction in BP or HR was observed in either intervention group. For first-time cataract surgery patients, both the music and TV groups had significantly fewer intraoperative hypertensive events than the control group (2 [2.4%] and 0 [0%] vs 6 [7.9%], p < 0.05). Furthermore, logistic regression of the TV group exhibited a significantly reduced odds ratio (OR) of 0.07 for developing an intraoperative hypertensive event compared to the control group (p = 0.01), while the music group, although showing a similar trend, did not reach statistical significance (OR 0.34; p = 0.13).
Conclusions :
This study confirms the benefits of music-based interventions on reducing perioperative anxiety in patients undergoing cataract surgery. Furthermore, this study is the first to suggest that watching television can be an affordable and conveniently accessible alternative for alleviating anxiety and decreasing hypertensive postoperative events in first-time cataract surgery patients.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.