An interventional study of Standardized Relaxation Music and Personal Choice of Music in Anxiety and Surgery, sponsored by University of Wisconsin, Madison. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-29.
Sponsored by University of Wisconsin, Madison · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
The purpose of this study is to examine if patients have a lower anxiety level during wide awake hand surgery while listening to their choice of music vs standardized relaxation music. Patients who are planning to undergo wide awake (local anesthetic only hand surgery) and agree to participate will be randomized to either a music intervention where they listen to their choice of music genre or standardized relaxation music during their time in the operating room. 170 participants will be enrolled and can expect to be on study for 2 weeks.
Music has been shown to decrease anxiety and pain during surgery. Wide awake local anesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) surgery on the hand is gaining popularity due to efficiency, cost savings and patient safety.
Despite the popularity of WALANT, it still can be anxiety producing even for patients who choose to proceed with surgery without sedation. Music has been shown to decrease anxiety during surgery, but patients' music choices vary widely. The frequency (Hz) of the music intervention has been shown to impact pain reduction, and patient choice of music has been shown to increase sense of control which can decrease anxiety. No study has evaluated the intraoperative effect of patient choice of music vs standardized relaxation music on intraoperative anxiety.
The primary objective of this research is to compare the effect of patient music choice vs standardized relaxation music played during surgery on anxiety levels in patients undergoing WALANT hand surgery. The investigators hypothesize that standardized relaxation music will result in reduced anxiety compared to patient's choice of music.
Exclusion Criteria:
Other: Standardized Relaxation Music
Other: Personal Choice of Music
Participants listen to standardized relaxation music during surgery.
Participants listen to their preferred music during surgery.
Change in Visual Analog Scale-Anxiety (VAS-A) Score
The VAS-A is scored from 0-10 where 0 is 'feeling calm' and 10 is 'extremely anxious'.
Time frame: day 0 post-operative, up to day 14
Change in State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) Score
The STAI is a 20-item questionnaire (form Y-1) scored on a 4 point likert scale where 1 is 'not at all', 2 is 'somewhat', 3 is 'moderately so', and 4 is 'very much so' for a total possible range of scores from 20-80 where higher scores indicate increased anxiety.
Time frame: day 0 post-operative, up to day 14
Participant Heart Rate
Time frame: day 0, pre- and intraoperative
Participant Systolic Blood Pressure
Time frame: pre- and intraoperative on day 0
Participant Diastolic Blood Pressure
Time frame: pre- and intraoperative on day 0
Participant Respiratory Rate
Time frame: pre- and intraoperative on day 0
Plan to share: No — Results will not be shared with patients or their primary care physicians. Study results will be shared via manuscript publication in a peer reviewed journal. Data will be pooled and deidentified. No individual results will be shared.
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University of Wisconsin, Madison