Effectiveness of music therapy in reducing preoperative anxiety in elective surgeries: a narrative literature review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15194925Keywords:
Music Therapy, Preoperative Anxiety, Elective Surgeries, Non-Pharmacological InterventionsAbstract
Preoperative anxiety is a common condition in patients undergoing elective surgeries, which can negatively interfere with recovery and increase the demand for sedatives and analgesics in the perioperative period. Among non-pharmacological strategies for anxiety management, music therapy has stood out for promoting relaxation and well-being, modulating the autonomic nervous system, and reducing physiological parameters such as heart rate and blood pressure. The objective of this study was to review the literature on the effectiveness of music therapy in reducing preoperative anxiety in elective surgeries. To this end, a narrative literature review was conducted, with an advanced search in the PubMed database. The descriptors used were "Music Therapy" and "Preoperative Anxiety", combined with the boolean operator AND, filtered by [Title/Abstract]. Articles published between 2013 and 2025, in Portuguese or English, that were literature reviews or clinical trials and had free access were included. Ten articles that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. The results indicate that music therapy is effective in reducing preoperative anxiety, especially when applied in a structured manner and integrated with other therapeutic approaches, such as playful activities in pediatrics. It is concluded that music therapy presents itself as a viable and beneficial strategy for managing anxiety in elective surgical contexts
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