The Effects of Music Therapy on Respiratory Comfort, Anxiety, and Depression During Non-Invasive Mechanical Ventilation Among Patients with Coronavirus Disease

Background: Hospitalized patients with Covid-19 may experience emotional problems and respiratory discomfort during mechanical ventilation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of music therapy on respiratory comfort, anxiety, and depression among patients with Covid-19 under non-invasive mechanical ventilation. Methods: It was a randomized clinical trial. The subjects were 64 patients requiring non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIV) who were selected from the Covid-19 intensive care unit (ICU) of Ali ibn Abitalib hospital, Rafsanjan, Iran, and randomly allocated to intervention (n=32) and control (n=32)   groups. The intervention group received thirty minutes of daily light music by an MP3 player and a JBL headphone for four consecutive days and the control group only used headphones. The data was collected by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and a visual analogue scale (VAS) before, and four days after the intervention. The SPSS software (v.16.0) was employed for data analysis through the Chi-square, independent-sample t, and paired-sample t tests at the significance level of less than 0.05. Results: The groups did not significantly differ from each other respecting the pretest mean scores of respiratory comfort, anxiety, and depression before intervention (P>0.05). The mean scores of respiratory comfort, anxiety, and depression significantly changed in the intervention group (P<0.05) but no significant changes were seen in the control group (P>0.05). Between-group differences respecting the posttest mean scores of these variables were also significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: Thirty minute of daily music therapy for four days is effective in   reducing anxiety and depression and improving respiratory comfort among patients with Covid-19 under non-invasive mechanical ventilation.