A classical melody played on noise-cancelling headphones may reduce the pain and anxiety of the often uncomfortable prostate biopsy procedure, according to researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute.
In the US, an estimated 700,000 men undergo a prostate biopsy each year to determine the presence of prostate cancer, which strikes 1 in 6 men during their lifetimes. This latest research, published in the journal Urology, suggests a simple and inexpensive way to help patients cope throughout the biopsy procedure.
Matvey Tsivian, MD, a Duke urologic oncology fellow and the study’s lead author says, “It’s a matter of shifting attention, so the music provides a distraction from the procedure.”
For the study, researchers randomly assigned 88 patients into 3 groups:
For the study, patients received a trans-rectal biopsy, a procedure during which 20% of men experience high stress and anxiety. Because diastolic blood pressure often rises as a function of stress and anxiety, blood pressure was taken before and after the procedure.
After the procedure, researchers found diastolic blood pressure remained high among the men in the groups with no musical intervention. However, the study participants who wore the headphones and listened to music showed no such blood pressure increase. Those patients also reported less pain, according to participant questionnaires.
According to Thomas Polascik, MD, director of Urologic Oncology at the Duke Cancer Institute and senior author of the study, “This is something that could be broadly employed. It’s easy and inexpensive – a set of headphones and music. That’s it.”
Source: DukeHealth.org.
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