Commentary on “Music Does Not Alter Anxiety in Patients with Suspected Lung Cancer Undergoing Bronchoscopy: A Randomised Controlled Trial” – European Clinical Respiratory Journal

Introduction

Not only may the prognosis of lung cancer provoke fear in patients with suspected lung cancer undergoing bronchoscopy, but also the thought of undergoing bronchoscopy may provoke fear [1]. This can be fear of pain, of shortness of breath and also fear of death in connection with the bronchoscopy (Figure 1).




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Figure 1: Patient from Department of Respiratory Medicine, Bispebjerg Hosptial, who had supporting colleagues who printed this t-shirt for her. This patient expressed major worries about the bronchoscopy she had to undergo.

The aim of the study was to measure the effect of “MusiCure -music as medicine”, on bronchoscopy-related anxiety. We hypothesised that MusiCure reduces bronchoscopy-related anxiety. MusiCure is music composed by the danish composer Niels Eje. There are contradictory findings both on the effect of MusiCure on anxiety and of the effect of music on bronchoscopy-related anxiety [2-5].

The patients included in our study had state-anxiety scores ranging from no anxiety to considerable anxiety, with a median state anxiety score at 39 (Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory - STAI) (Figure 2).




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Figure 2: Frequency of STAI-State score on admission.