Music in Operating Theatres may not be Good Idea

A research by the National Journal of Nurses has unveiled that surgeons listening to music surgical procedures is not a good idea and may make it difficult for them to concentrate. The researchers said that a surgeon carrying out the procedure is five times more likely to repeat a request when music is playing in the operation theatre.

The Journal of Advanced Nursing-published study said that though it can be a big interference source, it is hardly being recognized as the one. In more than 50% of surgical procedures, music is played. The researchers said that the percentage differs as per the nation, like in Britain, the rate is 72%.

Music in operation theatre is a custom that is quite old. A hundred years ago, a great surgeon in England asked musicians to play music to calm the nerves of patient under anesthesia before being operated. With passage of time, the practice became common.

Some surgeons have to say that music helps reducing stress and improves their concentration level. In the study, the researchers have video-taped 20 operations in Britain over a six-month period. Some procedures were having music and others were not.

The researchers noticed more than 5,000 instances in which a request needing a response made by a doctor or other team member. The repeated requests were five times more likely to take place in cases where music was played in backdrop than the procedures, where it was not played.

The study researchers said, "Regardless of whether music can increase surgeons' concentration and mask extraneous noise, anything that might impair team communication might place patients safety in jeopardy".