Effects of Music on Physiological and Behavioral Indices of Acute Pain and Stress in Premature Infants: Clinical Trial and Literature Review

Authors

  • Mark Jude Tramo MD, PhD
  • Miriam Lense MS
  • Caitlin Van Ness MST
  • Jerome Kagan PhD
  • Margaret Doyle Settle RNC, MSN
  • Jonathan H. Cronin MD

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47513/mmd.v3i2.249

Abstract

Infants in intensive care units often undergo medically necessary heel-stick procedures. Because the risks of administering analgesics and anesthetics are often thought to outweigh the benefits, there remain no proven means of ameliorating the pain and stress these infants suffer, particularly during procedures. This study examined the controlled use of recorded vocal music to attenuate physiological and behavioral responses to heel stick in 13 premature infants via an experimental design. In both instances, infants exposed to music and infants in the control group, heart rate, and respiration rate increased during the heel-stick procedure (P’s 1⁄4 .02) and nearly all infants cried. During a 10-minute recovery following the heel stick, heart rate, and crying significantly decreased in infants exposed to music (P 1⁄4 .02) but not in unexposed infants. Controlled music stimulation appears to be a safe and effective way to ameliorate pain and stress in premature infants following heel sticks.

Keywords

NICU music, infant, heart rate, pain, heel stick, premature

Author Biographies

Mark Jude Tramo, MD, PhD

The Institute for Music & Brain Science, Health & Medicine Program, Boston, MA, USA.

Harvard University Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Departments of Neurology and of Ethnomusicology, David Geffen School of Medicine & Herb Alpert School of Music, UCLA, Westwood, CA, USA.

Mark Jude Tramo, MD, PhD, is Associate Professor in Neurology & Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at the David Geffen School of Medicine & Herb Alpert School of Music, UCLA; Medical Director of Neurological & Rehabilitation Services at the Good Samaritan Hospital Los Angeles; and Director of the Institute for Music & Brain Science.

Miriam Lense, MS

The Institute for Music & Brain Science, Health & Medicine Program, Boston, MA, USA.

Harvard University Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.

Miriam Lense, MS, is a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychology and Human Development at Vanderbilt University, and a Research Associate at the Institute for Music and Brain Science.

Caitlin Van Ness, MST

The Institute for Music & Brain Science, Health & Medicine Program, Boston, MA, USA.

Harvard University Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Caitlin Van Ness, MST, is a Research Associate at the Institute of Music and Brain Science.

Jerome Kagan, PhD

Harvard University Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Jerome Kagan, PhD, is Professor Emeritus in Psychology and the director of the Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative at Harvard University.

Margaret Doyle Settle, RNC, MSN

The Institute for Music & Brain Science, Health & Medicine Program, Boston, MA, USA.

Newborn Intensive Care Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

Margaret Doyle Settle, RNC, MSN, is Nurse Director of the New- born Intensive Care Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital and a Research Associate at the Institute for Music and Brain Science.

Jonathan H. Cronin, MD

Newborn Intensive Care Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

Jonathan H. Cronin, MD, is Chief of the Neonatology Unit at Mas- sachusetts General Hospital.

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Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2011)

Section

Full Length Articles