Background: Current perioperative patient care aims to maintain homeostasis by attenuation of the stress response to surgery, as a more vigorous stress response can have detrimental effects on postoperative recovery. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to assess the effect of perioperative music on the physiological stress response to surgery.
Methods: The Embase, Medline Ovid, Cochrane Central, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched from inception date until February 5, 2019, using a systematic literature search following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis guidelines for randomized controlled trials investigating the effect of music before, during, and/or after surgery in adult surgical patients on the stress response to surgery. Meta-analysis was performed using a random effects model and pooled standardized mean differences were calculated with 95% confidence intervals. This study was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42018097060).
Results: The literature search identified 1076 articles. Eighteen studies (1301 patients) were included in the systematic review, of which eight were included in the meta-analysis. Perioperative music attenuated the neuroendocrine cortisol stress response to surgery (pooled standardized mean difference −0.30, [95% confidence interval −0.53 to −0.07], P = 0.01, I2 = 0).
Conclusions: Perioperative music can attenuate the neuroendocrine stress response to surgery.

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doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2019.06.052, hdl.handle.net/1765/118399
Journal of Surgical Research
Department of Surgery

Fu, V., Oomens, P., Sneiders, D., van den Berg, S., Feelders, R., Wijnhoven, B., & Jeekel, H. (2019). The Effect of Perioperative Music on the Stress Response to Surgery. Journal of Surgical Research (Vol. 244, pp. 444–455). doi:10.1016/j.jss.2019.06.052