Music helps cast broken bones in children
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio report that playing soft music in the cast room decreases anxiety in young children who require placement or removal of a cast on a broken bone.
First, the details.
- 28 children were exposed to an instrumental lullaby piped into the cast room as background music.
- 41 were randomly assigned to not be exposed to music.
- 39 children had casts removed and 26 had casts applied.
- There were also 3 cases of pin removal from a bone, and one of suture removal.
And, the results.
- The change in heart rate between the waiting room and the cast room was -2.7 beats/min in the music group and +4.7 beats/min in the no music group
- The difference in heart rate between the waiting room and during the procedure was 15.3 beats/min in the music group and 22.5 beats/min in the no music group.
- These differences were statistically significant
- 7 patients in the no music group had heart rate increases of greater than 40 beats/min.
- No child in the music group had an increase of this magnitude.
The bottom line?
The authors concluded, “Playing soft music in the cast room is a simple and inexpensive option for decreasing anxiety in young children during cast room procedures.”
11/20/07 19:53 JR
