Perioperative Music or Headsets to Decrease Anxiety - Corrected Proof

Brenda Johnson, Shirley Raymond, Judith Goss — 2012-05-03

The ambient noise of monitors, other patients, and staff in the postanesthesia care unit/operating room may elevate levels of anxiety. The purpose of our study was to determine the effect of music versus noise-blocking headphones on the level of anxiety in women undergoing gynecologic same-day surgery. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. The women were approached for consent and randomized to usual care, music with headphones, or headphones only. Preoperative and postoperative anxiety was rated on a scale of 0 to 10. Music/headphones were continued throughout surgery and removed when Aldrete level of consciousness equaled 2. The 119 women had a mean age of 38.8 (standard deviation=2.2) years. Of interest, 51 (45%) reported very low preoperative anxiety (0-3/10) and were excluded. All groups experienced a drop in anxiety from pre- to postoperative status, but the usual care group had the least improvement (P<.05). The music group experienced the lowest postoperative anxiety scores; the headphone group had a greater change overall. Music is a relatively inexpensive intervention, easy to administer, and noninvasive.

Unplanned Perioperative Hypothermia and Agreement Between Oral, Temporal Artery, and Bladder Temperatures in Adult Major Surgery Patients - Corrected Proof

2012-04-30

Accurate body core temperature measurement is essential in perioperative areas to quickly recognize and address abnormal temperatures. The purposes of this prospective, descriptive study were to accurately identify unplanned perioperative hypothermia (UPH) in 64 elective major surgery patients; to describe factors that increased the risk of UPH; to describe active/passive warming measures; to describe thermal comfort in patients with and without UPH; and to compare oral, temporal artery, and bladder temperatures.Based on bladder temperatures, 52% of the patients had UPH in the operating room (OR) and 42% on postanesthesia care unit (PACU) admission. The temporal artery thermometer did not detect any hypothermia. Descriptive data and Bland-Altman plots showed lack of agreement between the temporal artery thermometer readings and those of the oral and bladder thermometers. The patient's thermal comfort report did not accurately reflect hypothermia. Factors found to increase the risk of UPH included older age, BMI lower than 30, and OR ambient temperature lower than 68°F. All but one patient had active warming in the OR; active warming was infrequently used in the PACU. Based on our findings and findings in previous studies, we do not recommend using the temporal artery thermometer in perioperative areas. To prevent UPH, we recommend aggressive use of convective and conductive warming measures in perioperative areas and increasing OR ambient temperatures.

Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing - Articles in Press

Perioperative Music or Headsets to Decrease Anxiety - Corrected Proof

Unplanned Perioperative Hypothermia and Agreement Between Oral, Temporal Artery, and Bladder Temperatures in Adult Major Surgery Patients - Corrected Proof