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Interactive music reduced preoperative anxiety in children in a small randomized trial

Scientific reports (PubMed)Aug 24, 2026

AI-summarized from the linked source. Educational brief, not medical advice.

Brief summary

A single-center randomized trial found a brief interactive tablet-based music intervention reduced preoperative anxiety in children aged 3 to 11 compared with standard care.

What NurseJet pulled from the source

Eighty children undergoing elective surgery and their caregivers were randomized to interactive music or standard care. Child preoperative anxiety fell by 38% with the intervention, with larger effects reported in younger children and those with high baseline anxiety; secondary outcomes showed no clinically relevant differences.

Why this matters for nurses

Pediatric and perioperative nurses frequently use developmentally appropriate distraction while preparing children for procedures. This trial supports interactive music as a feasible option for anxiety support, without suggesting it replaces individualized assessment or ordered medications.

Bedside takeaway

Consider approved interactive music as a low-resource anxiety-support option while maintaining the full pediatric perioperative plan.

How This Applies in Practice

Use this when: Preparing a child aged 3 to 11 for elective surgery or another comparable perioperative transition.

On your shift

Assess baseline anxiety, developmental needs, sensory preferences, and caregiver input before choosing a distraction approach.
Offer the approved interactive music activity early enough to engage the child before transfer or induction.
Reassess anxiety and cooperation while continuing the ordered preoperative preparation and medication plan.

Keep in mind: This single-center trial does not establish effectiveness in every setting or replace indicated medication. Follow the perioperative plan, facility protocol, and provider orders.

Key takeaways

The trial randomized 80 children aged 3 to 11 who were undergoing elective surgery.
The interactive music intervention reduced measured preoperative anxiety by 38% versus standard care.
Effects were larger among children aged 3 to 6 and those with high baseline anxiety.
No clinically relevant differences were observed in the reported secondary outcomes.

Practice implications

Assess the child's baseline anxiety and communication needs, offer an approved interactive music option when available, involve the caregiver as appropriate, and continue standard preparation and reassessment through induction.

Limitations & cautions

The trial was conducted at one center with 80 children undergoing elective surgery. Subgroup findings were based on smaller numbers, and the study did not show clinically relevant differences in secondary outcomes; broader replication is needed.
AI-summarized from the linked source. Review the original article before applying to practice.

Citations

Exact source links

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Scientific reports (PubMed)

Scientific reports (PubMed). Effectiveness of an interactive music tablet intervention to reduce procedural anxiety in children: a randomized controlled trial.

Open original source

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42637802/

Professional education only

This summary does not replace clinical judgment, facility policy, provider orders, or official guidelines. Verify practice changes against the original source and local protocol.

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A retrospective analysis of US natality data found no statistically significant yearly difference in neonatal mortality between freestanding birth centers and hospitals among term, singleton, vertex births without major medical risk factors from 2015 through 2024.

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Adjusted neonatal-mortality odds for freestanding birth centers fluctuated around 1.0 across the 10-year study period. No individual year showed a statistically significant difference from hospital births, including 2020 and 2021 when birth-center volume increased.

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The analysis was restricted to births meeting selected low-risk criteria.
The study found no evidence that higher birth-center use during the pandemic years increased neonatal mortality.
The observational design cannot establish that birth setting itself caused the mortality pattern.

Why this matters on shift

The findings add national outcome data for counseling and systems planning around freestanding birth-center care for appropriately selected low-risk pregnancies.

Bedside takeaway

Apply local eligibility, surveillance, escalation, and transfer protocols when caring for planned low-risk birth-center patients.

Nursing implications

Keep eligibility, surveillance, escalation, and transfer decisions anchored to local birth-center criteria and maternal-newborn protocols.

Limitations & cautions

Abstract-only summary. The study used retrospective vital-record data, was limited to selected low-risk births, and cannot exclude residual differences between people who delivered in birth centers and hospitals.
AI-summarized from the linked source. Review the original article before applying to practice.

Citations · exact source links

Journal of midwifery & women's health (PubMed). Neonatal Mortality Risk Among Births in Freestanding Birth Centers, 2015 to 2024.

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The trial randomized 100 children. Vomiting episodes and oral tolerance at 6 and 12 hours did not differ significantly, while median hospital stay was 2 days with pantoprazole and 1 day with placebo.

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The median participant age was 14 months, and 67% of participants were male.
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The longer stay associated with pantoprazole requires cautious interpretation because this was a single-center trial.

Why this matters on shift

The trial does not support empiric intravenous proton-pump inhibition for persistent vomiting in pediatric acute gastroenteritis after ondansetron.

Bedside takeaway

Clarify the indication for empiric acid suppression and keep hydration and oral-tolerance assessment central to care.

Nursing implications

Prioritize the ordered hydration and oral-tolerance plan, document ongoing emesis, and clarify the indication before administering empiric acid suppression.

Limitations & cautions

Abstract-only summary. This was a single-center study of 100 children in Tehran, and the abstract does not describe adverse events or explain why hospitalization was longer in the pantoprazole group.
AI-summarized from the linked source. Review the original article before applying to practice.

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Pediatric emergency care (PubMed). Effect of Intravenous Pantoprazole on Clinical Outcomes in Pediatric Acute Gastroenteritis: A Placebo-Controlled RCT.

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Journal of neurology (PubMed)Sep 6, 2026Systematic Review

A cumulative meta-analysis found longer survival over time in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, alongside a shift from predominantly respiratory toward cardiac causes of death.

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The review included 53 studies and more than 13,000 patients. Pooled median survival was 29 years among ventilated patients and 19 years among non-ventilated patients, but these study-level observational comparisons do not establish that ventilation alone caused the difference.

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Sixty percent of patients in the included studies received home mechanical ventilation.
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As respiratory survival improved, cardiac and other causes accounted for a larger share of deaths.

Why this matters on shift

Patients living longer with Duchenne muscular dystrophy may need sustained respiratory support plus ongoing cardiac and multisystem surveillance across care transitions.

Bedside takeaway

Verify each patient's established respiratory and cardiac plan during admissions and care transitions.

Nursing implications

During admissions and handoffs, verify the established ventilation, airway-clearance, and cardiac-monitoring plan and coordinate concerns with the multidisciplinary team.

Limitations & cautions

Abstract-only summary. This was a study-level meta-analysis of heterogeneous observational survival reports; the ventilated and non-ventilated groups were not randomized, so associations should not be interpreted as treatment effects.
AI-summarized from the linked source. Review the original article before applying to practice.

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Journal of neurology (PubMed). Improving survival in Duchenne muscular dystrophy across eras: a systematic review and cumulative meta-analysis.

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How This Applies in Practice

Key takeaways

Practice implications

Limitations & cautions

Exact source links

More updates for this clinical area

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